Vaccination knowledge and acceptability among pregnant women in Italy

Abstract

The aims of this survey were to ascertain pregnant women's level of knowledge and acceptability on the vaccinations and to identify their associations with several characteristics. A cross-sectional study was performed from December 2017 through March 2018 in the geographic area of Naples, Italy. The study used two stages cluster sampling method for selection and recruitment of participants. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with pregnant women present at the Obstetrics outpatient clinic of the selected hospitals. A total of 358 respondents agreed to be interviewed out of the 405 pregnant women selected. One-fourth knew at least one of the vaccinations recommended during pregnancy and only 2.8% correctly identified all of these. Women who had received information about the vaccinations during pregnancy from general practitioners or gynecologists or other sources and those with at least one child were more likely to know at least one of the recommended vaccinations, whereas women with middle school education were less knowledgeable. None of the women had received tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis vaccine and only 1.4% the seasonal influenza vaccination. Only 27.9% reported a positive willingness to receive all the recommended vaccinations during pregnancy. Pregnant women would be willing to get all recommended vaccinations if they had at least one child and if they needed additional information, whereas the willingness was significantly lower among women who had reported high school as the highest level of education, who were in the second trimester of pregnancy, and who felt that the recommended vaccines administered during pregnancy were less dangerous for them and for the unborn child. This study suggests important focus points to be taking into account for informing and for implementing education activities on the benefits regarding vaccinations in order to increase the level of knowledge and the uptake in pregnant women.

The Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Community Pharmacists in their Approach to Antibiotic Use: A Nationwide Survey in Italy

“…Indeed, it is very important to acknowledge that these sources have played a vital role in improving the level of knowledge, since when comparing the influence of different sources of information about antibiotic resistance on the level of knowledge, educational activity and scientific journals were significantly associated with pharmacists who knew that the overuse of antibiotics causes antibiotic resistance. This result concurred with the findings of previous studies conducted among different groups of individuals on their level of knowledge related to health issues, which documented the strong impact of acquiring information from these sources [26][27][28][29][30][31]. There is no doubt that this underscored the crucial role of educational activity and scientific journals in improving pharmacists' knowledge, and therefore, the use of these sources should be encouraged.…”

Healthcare Workers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices about Vaccinations: A Cross-Sectional Study in Italy

“…It is well known that HCWs have a crucial role in vaccinations, and they should have adequate knowledge in order to correctly inform the population and the most fragile and susceptible patients. Indeed, several recent investigations among different groups of individuals conducted in the same geographic area have underlined that HCWs are the most important and trusted source of information on vaccine-preventable infectious diseases [15][16][17][18]. Therefore, the observed poor level of knowledge is a serious concern because HCWs may underestimate the risks of contracting the vaccine-preventable diseases and, consequently, of their transmission to other members of staff and their patients, particularly those in the vulnerable groups.…”

Knowledge gaps and acquisition about HPV and its vaccine among Brazilian medical students

“…Studies [45][46][47] demonstrate the importance of the physician in primary health care setting and vaccination counseling. Furthermore, the authors describe care practices based on the patient's medical relationship and health promotion interventions based on the individual care.…”