Evaluation of the Covid-19 vaccination process in Family Health Centers: A descriptive study

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: To overcome the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, in Turkey, the inactivated vaccine Sinovac/Coronovac and the mRNA vaccine Pfizer/BioNTech have been applied since January 13, 2021 and April 12, 2021 respectively. Especially with the introduction of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which contains more than one dose in one vial, various problems have been experienced during the delivery, storage and application of the vaccine. This study aims to understand the challenges faced by practitioners in the Covid-19 vaccination process in Family Health Centers (FHC), determine the factors causing these difficulties and the solutions produced by the practitioners, and discuss how similar problems encountered in vaccination processes are addressed by the strategies and the methods in the industrial engineering literature. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study was planned. Family physicians and family health workers working in the FHC and vaccinating against Covid-19 formed the universe of the research. The sample was not calculated, the participants were accessed via online platforms (Google forms). Data were collected between 10.8.2021 and 10.10.2021. The frequency distributions of the data were calculated in Microsoft® Excel® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2203 Build 16.0.15028.20152) 64-bit program. Results: Our research was conducted with a total of 124 FHC employees. Of these, 102 (82.2%) are physicians and 22 (17.8%) are other healthcare professionals. To the question “What are the factors that reduce the effectiveness of the vaccination that you experience during the Covid-19 vaccination process?” we asked the participants, 80.6% answered that 6 people to be vaccinated should wait to open a vial. 75.2% of the participants stated that they worked without taking a break during the day to overcome the problems during the Covid-19 vaccination process. Conclusion: Various problems related to vaccine logistics and management have been identified such as the requirement of gathering six people to be able to administer the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the inability to design an effective appointment system, and the conflicts of the routine work of FHCs and the vaccine administration tasks. These problems can be handled and solved with the strategies and methods commonly used in the industrial engineering literature.