LastName 1
NOTE:
This paper, from last semester, did not require the inclusion of a literature review. Keep that in mind when you plan your own proposal!
I kept some comments to call your attention to where the proposal needed to be revised.
Student Y
Andrea Silva
English 3010-10
Date
Project Proposal
Introduction/Statement of Problem:
Ever since pharmacists have become major distributors of immunizations, the rate of immunizations has been slightly increasing over the years.Because pharmacists are the most accessible health care providers, people tend to get immunized by them rather than by a physician or any other health care provider.It is more likely that higher rates of immunizations exist in areas where pharmacists are able to administer them. In a study done in the article “Effect of Vaccination by Community Pharmacists among Adult Prescription Recipients” by John D. Grabenstein, Harry A. Guess, Abraham G. Hartzema, Gary G. Koch, and Thomas R. Konrad, it is proven that “Vaccine delivery by pharmacists is associated with higher rates of vaccination among those younger than 65 taking medications for chronic diseases, as well as prescription recipients unvaccinated against influenza in the previous year.” (page #). From this fact, it can be concluded that if pharmacists take a step forward,[A1] they can administer more immunizations annually.
As stated in the article “Immunization Clinics to Reduce Influenza and Pneumonia among the Elderly” by Gina Pitz, Influenza is the direct cause of about 40,000 deaths each year. With this high number of deaths due to low immunization rates, further steps should be taken to ensure that individuals, especially adults 65 years or older, are immunized annually. In order to avoid the high risk of deaths among victims of influenza, pharmacists should play their role in educating and recommending patients to get immunized. If pharmacists conduct seminars to advocate immunizations and their importance, and keep patients updated on their immunization records, then immunization rates will continuously increase among high-risk patients. I will conduct a study to compare the number of high-risk patients that get vaccinated after attending seminars that advocate immunizations and get updated on their immunization records and the number of high-risk patients that do not get vaccinated as a result of not attending seminars and getting updates on their immunization records. [A2]
Methods:
In order to compare the number of high-risk patients that get vaccinated after attending seminars that advocate immunizations and get updated on their immunization records and the number of high-risk patients that do not get vaccinated as a result of not attending seminars and getting updates on their immunization records, I will conduct a study on 100 randomly chosen high-risk patients[A3]. The purpose of this study is to see if pharmacists can affect the number of immunizations that are taken annually. Pharmacists are to conduct seminars that advocate immunizations and their importance, as well as keep patients updated on their immunization records.
The seminars that are to be held by pharmacists are to take place in public libraries, since the rental of a room for a short period of time is not that costly. The maximum number of attendees at a seminar is 50 high-risk patients, who are chosen randomly by pharmacists. Since only 50 patients can attend a seminar, two seminars will be held in total.Pharmacists are expected to look at patient records and randomly select patients who are at high-risk of influenza and other diseases, most likely those who are 65 years of age and older. [A4]After the patients are selected, a letter will be sent to their homes with hopes that they will attend the seminar. The reward for those who do attend a seminar will be a free immunization at a local pharmacy.
With receipt of the invitation letter to attend a seminar advocating immunizations, patients have a week to reply as to whether or not they will attend the seminar. In this case, 80 patients replied that they will be able to attend the seminar. [A5]Although 100 were expected to attend, 80 is a decent amount of people needed to conduct the study. Therefore, the control group for this study will be another 80 randomly chosen high-risk patients by pharmacists. Within a short period of time, the amount of patients that said could attend a seminar are going to be notified of the date that it will be held.
During the seminar, pharmacists will provide pamphlets to patients about the importance of immunizations and the risks that they will face if they do not get immunized. Along with the pamphlets, every patient will also be receiving a wallet-sized card listing up-to-date immunization records. This easy to access wallet-sized card will allow patients to know when they are due for immunizations in the upcoming days. After the distribution of important information, about three different pharmacists will be giving a lecture on the importance of immunizations, the risk that patients have if they do not get immunized, and statistics that indicate that low immunization rates can lead to deaths.
At the end of the seminar, patients will be given surveys that evaluate the information given by the pharmacists. Patients will be able to comment on any information that they thought useful, and anything they thought could be improved for the next seminar session. The next seminar session will be held a week after the first. Pharmacists encourage every patient at the end of the seminar to get immunized as soon as possible, in order to reduce the risk of death or any serious illness. The results of the study will be recorded after two months of the seminar dates, in order to assure that everyone has enough time to get access to a pharmacist that will administer the proper immunization needed. After two months, the amount of patients that attended the seminar and got immunized afterwards will be recorded, versus those that did not attend a seminar. The expected results are that those that attend a seminar are the ones who will get immunized versus those that did not attend a seminar.
Results/Conclusion
With the active participation of pharmacists and high-risk patients, I predict that the results of the study will be very reasonable. I expect the results to be that those who did attend a seminar are the ones who will get immunized versus those that did not attend a seminar. Out of the 80 high-risk patients that attended the seminars, I predict that at least 65 of them will get immunized after two months of the seminar, and the rest will not. On the other hand, out of the other 80 high-risk patients that did not attend the seminars, I predict that at least 25 of them will get immunized after a period of two months. If I get the expected results of the study, then my hypothesis will be proven. That is, if pharmacists conduct seminars to advocate immunizations and their importance, and keep patients updated on their immunization records, then immunization rates will continuously increase among high-risk patients. [A6]
Since immunizations have become a major issue in the health field, I believe that this study will help to improve the rate of immunizations especially to those patients that are at high risk of influenza or other life-threatening illnesses. If the rate of immunizations increases, then the number of hospitalizations would decrease along with the number of deaths that occur in high-risk patients. This will also decrease the amount of money spent for hospitalizations and maybe even medications that are taken to prevent illnesses. Every step should be taken in order to increase the rates of immunizations taken by high-risk patients, since there are many advantages to it.
Works Cited
Research Pro 2.03 Error Page. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. [A7]<
Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <
[A1]This is vague. Make sure you outline your argument as clearly and directly as possible.
[A2]Good. This is definitely more clear and specific.
[A3]What makes a patient quality as “high-risk”?
[A4]Ok, good. Would this study be conducted in a single pharmacy, or through several across a particular location?
[A5]Don’t make-up results. Instead, discuss your expectations of the quantity of positive replies and why you expect that to be the case.
[A6]Great.
[A7]This is undeniable evidence that you didn’t look over your list after putting it through whatever list maker you used!