What Drives Community Pharmacists’ Intention to Provide Drive-Through Vaccination Services? A Theory of Planned Behavior–Based Structural Equation Modeling Study in the United Arab Emirates
This study of 428 community pharmacists in the UAE reveals that their intention to provide drive-through vaccination services is primarily driven by personal development attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms, while patient-related attitudes and concerns about negative consequences were found to be insignificant predictors.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
In the modern healthcare landscape, the community pharmacy has quietly evolved from a place simply to pick up prescriptions into a frontline hub for public health. Pharmacists are increasingly seen as accessible allies in keeping populations healthy, often offering services that require no appointment and fit easily into a busy day. Among the most vital of these services is vaccination, a cornerstone of disease prevention that relies on both medical expertise and public trust. For a service to succeed, however, it is not enough for a pharmacist to simply agree that vaccines are good; they must also feel personally ready and professionally supported to deliver them. This is where the science of human behavior steps in. Researchers often look at what drives a person to act, examining whether their decision comes from a belief in the benefits, a sense of personal capability, or the pressure and encouragement of others. Understanding these internal and external forces is crucial when trying to introduce new ways of delivering care, such as the drive-through vaccination model that gained prominence during global health crises.
A team of researchers in the United Arab Emirates set out to understand exactly what motivates community pharmacists to offer vaccines through a drive-through window. They focused on a specific group of 428 pharmacists working across the country, asking them about their thoughts on a service where patients remain in their cars while staff administer shots. The researchers used a structured approach to measure six different mental factors: how much the pharmacists believed the service would help patients, how much they felt it would help their own careers, their worries about potential downsides, the influence of doctors and government officials, their confidence in having the right staff and equipment, and finally, their actual intention to provide the service. By analyzing the responses of these hundreds of professionals, the study aimed to uncover which of these factors truly moves the needle from thinking about a service to planning to do it.
The results revealed a clear and somewhat surprising hierarchy of motivations. The strongest driver for a pharmacist's intention to provide drive-through vaccines was not the desire to help patients directly, nor was it the fear of things going wrong. Instead, the most powerful factor was the pharmacist's belief that the service would contribute to their personal and professional growth. Those who saw the drive-through model as a chance to expand their skills, gain new knowledge, and feel more satisfied in their career were the most likely to intend to offer it. This suggests that for these professionals, the opportunity to evolve as a clinician is a more potent motivator than the general concept of patient care or the avoidance of negative outcomes.
Alongside this drive for professional development, two other practical factors played significant roles. Pharmacists who felt they had control over the situation—meaning they were confident in their ability to handle the vaccines, manage any adverse reactions, and work within a well-staffed and well-equipped facility—were more likely to plan to offer the service. Similarly, the perception of support from others mattered; if a pharmacist believed that doctors, nurses, and government authorities accepted and encouraged this new role, their intention to participate grew stronger. The study found that these three elements combined explained a large portion of the differences in how willing pharmacists were to take on this task.
Conversely, the study explicitly ruled out two factors that might intuitively seem important. The researchers found that a pharmacist's belief about how much the service would benefit patients, such as improving trust or satisfaction, did not independently predict their intention to participate. Once the other factors were taken into account, the perceived patient benefits did not add any extra weight to the decision. Likewise, the attitude toward negative consequences—worries about increased workload, professional boundaries, or the difficulty of managing bad outcomes—did not significantly stop or start the intention to provide the service. This indicates that while pharmacists may have concerns, these worries do not stand alone as the primary barrier; rather, the presence of strong professional support and adequate resources seems to overshadow these fears.
The findings suggest that introducing drive-through vaccination in this region requires a strategy that goes beyond simply telling pharmacists the service is good for the public. To succeed, health planners and policymakers must focus on the pharmacist's perspective as a professional. This means highlighting how the service offers career advancement and new skills, ensuring that pharmacies have the necessary staff, equipment, and physical space to operate safely, and securing clear backing from medical and government leaders. The study concludes that while the general willingness to vaccinate is a positive starting point, the actual intention to adopt a specific, high-throughput model like drive-through depends heavily on whether the pharmacist feels they are growing professionally, has the tools to do the job, and feels supported by their peers and the system.
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