OBJECTIVES: With the development of higher-valent pneumococcal vaccines for adults, it is important to understand the acceptability and feasibility of pneumoccocal vaccines in practice. Our objective was to assess healthcare providers’ (HCPs’) and healthcare consumers’ (HCCs’) knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions towards pneumococcal vaccines and pneumococcal disease (PD).

METHODS: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with HCPs and adult HCCs in the US. HCPs were eligible if they recommended/prescribed pneumococcal vaccines to adults ≥19 years old, spent ≥25% of their time providing care to adults, and had at least 1 (pharmacists) or 2 (clinicians) years’ professional experience. Adult HCCs (≥19 years old) were eligible if they were not strongly against vaccination (self-rated as ≥4 on a scale of 0 (strongly against) to 10 (strongly for)). Adult HCCs were purposively sampled to ensure a distribution across age and risk for PD. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded.

RESULTS:

Sixteen HCPs (7 physicians, 4 nurse practitioners, 2 physician assistants and 3 pharmacists) and nine HCCs were interviewed. Among HCPs (mean age 47 years, 56% female, 54% practiced in urban settings), all reported familiarity with PD and nearly all recognized the differences in PD burden by age and risk group. Most HCPs supported lowering the current age recommendation for pneumocccal vaccination from ≥ 65 to ≥50 years. Among adult HCCs (mean age 52 years, 67% female, 78% White), most were unfamiliar with PD. Two of the six HCCs eligible for pneumoccocal vaccination had received it. Most HCCs were willing to receive a second pneumococcal vaccine for increased disease protection.

CONCLUSIONS:

HCPs supported lowering age-based pneumococcal vaccine recommendations. Adult HCCs were generally unfamiliar with PD. Additional studies are needed to validate these findings in a broader population and to continue exploring factors that may influence HCPs’ and HCCs’ knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and preferences towards PCVs.