Using Phone Call Reminder to Increase Pneumococcal Vaccination in Adult COPD Patients

Using Phone Call Reminder to Increase Pneumococcal Vaccination in Adult COPD Patients
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Using Phone Call Reminder to Increase Pneumococcal Vaccination in Adult COPD patients
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic illness that is marked by a dysfunction of the airways or alveolar following exposure to hazardous fumes or particulates leading to continual airflow obstruction or respiratory symptoms (Ignatova, Avdeev, & Antonov, 2021). While the condition is preventable and treatable, the periodic exacerbations lower the quality of life and could lead to unwanted outcomes, mortality, and morbidity (Ignatova, Avdeev, & Antonov, 2021). An evidence-based approach used to minimize the likelihood of COPD exacerbation is the use of influenza vaccination at the Evidence A level as it minimizes hospitalization and mortality rates, and the use of the pneumococcal vaccine at the Evidence B level as it prevents the development of pneumonia in adult COPD patients (Ignatova, Avdeev, & Antonov, 2021). Despite the existence of evidence indicating that vaccination is an effective preventive measure that can minimize the exacerbations of COPD and lower the likelihood of contracting pneumonia, the uptake of the vaccine remains suboptimal. 
Description of the Problem
Research has shown that a pneumococcal vaccine is an effective approach for reducing the likelihood of pneumonia infections in adult COPD patients but their uptake remains dismal. A study by Fekete et al. (2020) showed that the uptake of the pneumococcal vaccine among adult COPD patients was 10 percent, while that of influenza vaccination was at 23.6 percent despite the evidence of the significant protective effect of the two vaccines in adult COPD patients. Based on the Centers for Disease Control’s (2022) data on the prevalence of COPD, the prevalence of the disease has remained unchanged between 2011 and 2020. The overall age-adjusted prevalence of the disease was 5.6, with the prevalence being significantly higher in women than in men.
Significance of the Problem
Notably, the death rate due to COPD has reduced from 123.9 per 100,000 reported in 1999 to 105.6 per 100,000 reported in 2019, with mortality in men being higher compared to the women population (CDC, 2022). The figures are in line with studies that have placed chronic lower respiratory disease including COPD as the fourth leading cause of mortality in the United States in 2019 (Wise, 2022). The death rate associated with COPD has only slightly declined despite the introduction of a vaccine as a potential preventive measure that can assist in reducing the occurrence of COPD exacerbation and minimizing pneumonia infections (Ignatova, Avdeev, & Antonov, 2021). In addition, the economic burden of COPD is staggering, with studies showing that the disease will lead to incurred costs of US$ 49 billion in 2019, mainly driven by hospitalizations (Wise, 2022). Thus, clinicians need to cure and manage COPD in the population.
Purpose of the Project
The DNP project was intended to raise the pneumococcal vaccination rates among adult COPD patients. After a literature review and a needs assessment, a PICOT q...