At conferences throughout the year, the Vaccine Education Center team has the honor and joy of engaging with healthcare providers from around the world. These conversations at our conference booths have yielded invaluable vaccination tips.
These tips include inspiring quotes, ideas for sharing information with families, strategies for counseling hesitant families, and logistical considerations that may often be overlooked. Many can improve the patient experience. As a new year begins, we thought it would be a good time to share and explore some of the tips we have received as well as provide some related resources. Some tips are specific to an office setting, but most can be applied to any vaccination site, including schools, pharmacies and pop-up clinics.
Before the visit
Tip: Let patients and families know the vaccine schedule in advance.
How often does a parent bring their child to an appointment promising “no shots,” only to discover two are needed? How often does the parent then make an office staff member the “bad guy” or defer the shots entirely? Sharing what’s coming up — either at the prior visit or during scheduling — can give all family members the chance to prepare and increase the likelihood of acceptance of recommended vaccines at each visit.
Tip: Encourage families to bring distractions.
Families aware of scheduled vaccines can plan to bring items that will serve as a distraction during vaccine administration. Distractions could include a video, beloved stuffed animal, book or pinwheel to blow.
Because the patient (or caregiver) knows themselves (or their child) best, they will have a good idea of what distractions will be most effective.
Our website offers age-based guidance that provides a series of pre-visit preparation tips for all ages. By proactively sharing these pages with your patients and families, they can come to the visit having a greater sense of control over vaccine appointments. Additionally, the CARD (Comfort, Ask, Relax, Distract) system provides resources, such as videos, handouts and activities, to help patients and families prepare for their visit.
At the visit
When families don’t identify distractions in advance, having options available at the vaccination site can also make a difference. Here are some tips shared by your colleagues:
- Provide a “fake” shot to demonstrate what will happen or use dolls to model the process. Both can reduce hesitation or uncertainty about the process.
- Set appropriate expectations. Instead of saying, “It won’t hurt,” say, “It’ll feel like a quick pinch.”
- Use tools, like the Buzzy or other pain-reducing devices to reduce pain.
- Apply numbing cream, if available.
- Have pinwheels or introduce breathing techniques that will help during the vaccine administration process.
In addition to tips about distractions during vaccine administration, colleagues focused on the communication strategies that are critical to the success of vaccine visits. Tips included:
- Use presumptive language, such as “These are the vaccines your child will receive today.”
- Provide factually accurate information about vaccines and natural disease.
- Be compassionate during vaccine-related conversations.
- It takes time — you need to spend it.
After the vaccine
Knowing what to expect after vaccinations and having some steps to take will make individuals and families feel like they have a role in the process. This may increase their sense of control and put them more at ease. The VEC’s age-based webpages offer a series of tips for “after the visit,” so you can either share these directly or send patients and families to the website. One provider also recommended that patients “Schedule the next vaccine visit before they leave this visit.” This ensures they can access the vaccine at a time convenient for them and reduces a task they need to take care of at home.
Endearingly, at one conference, an attendee’s child shared these memorable tips for after the vaccine visit:
- Give lava cakes.
- Give treats.
- Give sugar for vaccines.
Our takeaway? Encourage parents to celebrate their child’s bravery in a way that aligns with their parenting style. This might be praise, a sticker, additional screentime or — as suggested by the aforementioned child — something sweet. For teens and adults, acknowledge the challenge and encourage self-care — a walk in fresh air, a warm cup of tea, or yes, even a lava cake.
In sum
Improving the vaccine experience at one visit paves the way for a patient’s long-term success with vaccinations. Many of the tips discussed are free or low cost, so you may consider implementing some of them this year to make a positive impact on the vaccine experiences of your patients.
Looking for more ideas? Check out “Tools for Addressing Pain and Fear of Needles During Vaccinations.” This article was originally published in the March 2023 Vaccine Update’s “Technically Speaking” column.
Contributed by: Lori Handy, MD, MSCE , Charlotte A. Moser, MS, Paul A. Offit, MD
At conferences throughout the year, the Vaccine Education Center team has the honor and joy of engaging with healthcare providers from around the world. These conversations at our conference booths have yielded invaluable vaccination tips.
These tips include inspiring quotes, ideas for sharing information with families, strategies for counseling hesitant families, and logistical considerations that may often be overlooked. Many can improve the patient experience. As a new year begins, we thought it would be a good time to share and explore some of the tips we have received as well as provide some related resources. Some tips are specific to an office setting, but most can be applied to any vaccination site, including schools, pharmacies and pop-up clinics.
Before the visit
Tip: Let patients and families know the vaccine schedule in advance.
How often does a parent bring their child to an appointment promising “no shots,” only to discover two are needed? How often does the parent then make an office staff member the “bad guy” or defer the shots entirely? Sharing what’s coming up — either at the prior visit or during scheduling — can give all family members the chance to prepare and increase the likelihood of acceptance of recommended vaccines at each visit.
Tip: Encourage families to bring distractions.
Families aware of scheduled vaccines can plan to bring items that will serve as a distraction during vaccine administration. Distractions could include a video, beloved stuffed animal, book or pinwheel to blow.
Because the patient (or caregiver) knows themselves (or their child) best, they will have a good idea of what distractions will be most effective.
Our website offers age-based guidance that provides a series of pre-visit preparation tips for all ages. By proactively sharing these pages with your patients and families, they can come to the visit having a greater sense of control over vaccine appointments. Additionally, the CARD (Comfort, Ask, Relax, Distract) system provides resources, such as videos, handouts and activities, to help patients and families prepare for their visit.
At the visit
When families don’t identify distractions in advance, having options available at the vaccination site can also make a difference. Here are some tips shared by your colleagues:
- Provide a “fake” shot to demonstrate what will happen or use dolls to model the process. Both can reduce hesitation or uncertainty about the process.
- Set appropriate expectations. Instead of saying, “It won’t hurt,” say, “It’ll feel like a quick pinch.”
- Use tools, like the Buzzy or other pain-reducing devices to reduce pain.
- Apply numbing cream, if available.
- Have pinwheels or introduce breathing techniques that will help during the vaccine administration process.
In addition to tips about distractions during vaccine administration, colleagues focused on the communication strategies that are critical to the success of vaccine visits. Tips included:
- Use presumptive language, such as “These are the vaccines your child will receive today.”
- Provide factually accurate information about vaccines and natural disease.
- Be compassionate during vaccine-related conversations.
- It takes time — you need to spend it.
After the vaccine
Knowing what to expect after vaccinations and having some steps to take will make individuals and families feel like they have a role in the process. This may increase their sense of control and put them more at ease. The VEC’s age-based webpages offer a series of tips for “after the visit,” so you can either share these directly or send patients and families to the website. One provider also recommended that patients “Schedule the next vaccine visit before they leave this visit.” This ensures they can access the vaccine at a time convenient for them and reduces a task they need to take care of at home.
Endearingly, at one conference, an attendee’s child shared these memorable tips for after the vaccine visit:
- Give lava cakes.
- Give treats.
- Give sugar for vaccines.
Our takeaway? Encourage parents to celebrate their child’s bravery in a way that aligns with their parenting style. This might be praise, a sticker, additional screentime or — as suggested by the aforementioned child — something sweet. For teens and adults, acknowledge the challenge and encourage self-care — a walk in fresh air, a warm cup of tea, or yes, even a lava cake.
In sum
Improving the vaccine experience at one visit paves the way for a patient’s long-term success with vaccinations. Many of the tips discussed are free or low cost, so you may consider implementing some of them this year to make a positive impact on the vaccine experiences of your patients.
Looking for more ideas? Check out “Tools for Addressing Pain and Fear of Needles During Vaccinations.” This article was originally published in the March 2023 Vaccine Update’s “Technically Speaking” column.
Contributed by: Lori Handy, MD, MSCE , Charlotte A. Moser, MS, Paul A. Offit, MD