tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
A(H1N1) pandemic influenza and its prevention by vaccination: Paediatricians opinions before and after the beginning of the vaccination campaign
Eve Dube email, Fannie Defay email, Vladimir Gilca email, Julie A Bettinger email, Chantal Sauvageau email, France Lavoie email, Francois D Boucher email, Shelly McNeil email, Ian Gemmill email and Nicole Boulianne email
BMC Public Health 2011, 11:128doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-128
Published: 22 February 2011
Background
In June 2009, the World Health Organization declared an A(H1N1) influenza pandemic. In October 2009, the largest vaccination campaign in Canadian history began. The aim of this study was to document paediatricians knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding A(H1N1) pandemic influenza and its prevention by vaccination just after the beginning of the A(H1N1) vaccination campaign and to compare the results with those obtained before campaign initiation.
Methods
A self-administered mail-based questionnaire was sent to all Canadian paediatricians. Questionnaires were analyzed in two subsets: those received before and after the beginning of the vaccination campaign.
Results
Overall the response rate was 50%. Respondents characteristics were comparable between the two subsets. Before the beginning of the campaign, 63% of paediatricians perceived A(H1N1) pandemic infection as a serious disease, that would occur frequently without vaccination compared to more than 75% after. Before the vaccination campaign, half of respondents or less thought that the A(H1N1) vaccine was safe (50%) and effective (35%) compared to 77% and 72% after. The proportion of paediatricians who reported they had received sufficient information on A(H1N1) vaccine increased from 31% before to 73% after the beginning of the vaccination campaign. The majority of respondents intended to get vaccinated against A(H1N1) influenza themselves (84% before and 92% after). Respondents intention to recommend the A(H1N1) vaccine to their patients increased from 80% before the beginning of the campaign to 92% after. In multivariate analysis, the main determinants of paediatricians intention to recommend the A(H1N1) vaccine were their intention to get vaccinated against A(H1N1) influenza themselves and a belief that A(H1N1) vaccine would be well accepted by health professionals who administer vaccines to the public.
Conclusion
Results of this study show important increases in physicians level of confidence about A(H1N1) vaccine's safety and immunogenicity and their willingness to recommend this vaccine to their patients. These changes could be explained, at least partially, by the important effort done by public health authorities to disseminate information regarding A(H1N1) vaccination.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-11-128.pdf
Eve Dube email, Fannie Defay email, Vladimir Gilca email, Julie A Bettinger email, Chantal Sauvageau email, France Lavoie email, Francois D Boucher email, Shelly McNeil email, Ian Gemmill email and Nicole Boulianne email
BMC Public Health 2011, 11:128doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-128
Published: 22 February 2011
Background
In June 2009, the World Health Organization declared an A(H1N1) influenza pandemic. In October 2009, the largest vaccination campaign in Canadian history began. The aim of this study was to document paediatricians knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding A(H1N1) pandemic influenza and its prevention by vaccination just after the beginning of the A(H1N1) vaccination campaign and to compare the results with those obtained before campaign initiation.
Methods
A self-administered mail-based questionnaire was sent to all Canadian paediatricians. Questionnaires were analyzed in two subsets: those received before and after the beginning of the vaccination campaign.
Results
Overall the response rate was 50%. Respondents characteristics were comparable between the two subsets. Before the beginning of the campaign, 63% of paediatricians perceived A(H1N1) pandemic infection as a serious disease, that would occur frequently without vaccination compared to more than 75% after. Before the vaccination campaign, half of respondents or less thought that the A(H1N1) vaccine was safe (50%) and effective (35%) compared to 77% and 72% after. The proportion of paediatricians who reported they had received sufficient information on A(H1N1) vaccine increased from 31% before to 73% after the beginning of the vaccination campaign. The majority of respondents intended to get vaccinated against A(H1N1) influenza themselves (84% before and 92% after). Respondents intention to recommend the A(H1N1) vaccine to their patients increased from 80% before the beginning of the campaign to 92% after. In multivariate analysis, the main determinants of paediatricians intention to recommend the A(H1N1) vaccine were their intention to get vaccinated against A(H1N1) influenza themselves and a belief that A(H1N1) vaccine would be well accepted by health professionals who administer vaccines to the public.
Conclusion
Results of this study show important increases in physicians level of confidence about A(H1N1) vaccine's safety and immunogenicity and their willingness to recommend this vaccine to their patients. These changes could be explained, at least partially, by the important effort done by public health authorities to disseminate information regarding A(H1N1) vaccination.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-11-128.pdf