Overview

Do you work with clients or patients to restore good physical or oral health, help develop coping skills and support emotional well-being, provide education about medications, relieve pain, or promote good nutrition and fitness? If you are a health and wellness professional who works in one of many licensed and accredited fields and regularly engages with the members of the public, you play an integral role in protecting and promoting individual health and the health of communities. This includes talking to your patients or clients regularly about the importance of preventive medicine as part of holistic healthcare. 

One critical component of preventive healthcare is immunization against preventable diseases. In adults aged 50 years and older, diseases such as influenza, pneumococcal disease, RSV, shingles, and COVID-19, are estimated to cost over $26 billion each year in the US, and it has been estimated that 40,000–50,000 adults die annually from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).

This activity is designed for medical and wellness professionals including but not limited to fitness instructors, physical therapists, estheticians, occupational therapists, nutritionists, psychologists, social workers, community pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, physicians, nurses, massage therapists, chiropractors, case managers, respiratory therapists, speech pathologists, and drug addiction counselors.

Several vaccines are recommended for adults including those for COVID-19, influenza, RSV, tetanus, shingles (herpes zoster), pneumococcus, and hepatitis B. However, the diseases that are preventable by these vaccines continue to cause significant burdens for both individuals and communities due to suboptimal vaccine uptake among adult populations. For example, pneumococcal pneumonia is responsible for an estimated 400,000 hospitalizations each year in the US, yet vaccination rates remain low, particularly among those patients with underlying comorbidities or risk factors. The suboptimal uptake in adult vaccinations can be attributed to several factors, from poor access to vaccine hesitancy, and are influenced by age, ethnicity, socioeconomics, and education. One aspect of vaccine hesitancy that can be addressed in a variety of community settings is frustration with the healthcare community in the failure to validate concerns and engage in constructive conversation that respects views of patients. Community health associates, including but not limited to pharmacists, chiropractors, fitness instructors, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, estheticians, and social workers can help address vaccine hesitancy by providing reliable and relatable information; building trust through personal experiences; facilitating open dialogue within the community; and actively debunking misinformation all while tailoring their approach in the context of how they engage with individuals within the community. Therefore, because professionals in these fields see many individuals on a regular and routine basis with the goal of improving overall health and wellness, they can play a significant role in helping to improve vaccination rates through personal interactions that foster trust and provide time to answer questions and reinforce the importance of vaccination as a vital tool for improving individual and community health.

Upon completion of this activity, learners will be able to:
• Describe the burden of vaccine preventable diseases such as RSV, influenza, pneumococcal disease, COVID-19, and shingles in adults
• Summarize the latest evidence around available vaccines and describe their role in improving individual and public health
• Identify common misconceptions about vaccines and formulate responses to concerns commonly identified by vaccine-hesitant adults
• Apply community-based strategies to overcome barriers to increasing vaccination rates in at-risk adult populations

Content topics

• Review of Epidemiologic Data and Clinical Burden
• Common Adult Vaccinations
• ACIP Recommendations 
• Improving Adult Vaccination Rates: Community Health Professionals

Provided by the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL).

This educational activity is supported by independent medical education grants from GSK and Merck & Co., Inc.