The importance of monitoring adherence to vaccinations of different population groups in the structure of the information subsystem of epidemiological surveillance of vaccine prevention

Owing to immunization, significant successes have been achieved in the fight against infectious diseases. However, many issues of organizing an epidemiological surveillance over vaccination in the population still need to be improved. Objective. To determine the importance of monitoring adherence to vaccination in different population groups in the system for epidemiological surveillance of immunoprophylaxis and to elaborate recommendations for its improvement. Subjects and methods. A survey of 865 parents, 1325 health care workers, 750 students and 216 teachers of the Medical University was conducted to determine the commitment of certain groups of the population of a large industrial city to vaccination. Epidemiological, sociological, and statistical studies were used. Results. Assessment of parents’ attitude towards vaccination ascertained that 79.3% of the respondents were positive, 6.4% denied the need for vaccination, and 14.3% expressed doubts about its effectiveness and safety. The main source of information about vaccinations in parents was the opinion of health workers; however, their survey identified 187 (14.1%) employees, mainly among the trained professionals with negative attitudes towards vaccination. Among the students of the medical university, there were 66 (8.8%) persons doubting the effectiveness of vaccinations, while most of them were junior students. There were negative answers to the question about vaccinations in 8.3% of the questionnaires filled out by the teachers (n = 18), mainly by those working at the theoretical departments. It is obvious that to form a positive attitude to vaccination in the population and to increase vaccination rates, it is necessary to specify educational programs, taking into account the target audience: junior students of medical universities, teachers of theoretical departments, health care medical workers with more than 20 years of experience. Conclusion. Monitoring vaccination adherence enables important information to be obtained to determine the trajectories of education, upbringing of the population, and to enhance the competence of teachers and health care workers, who will contribute to the improvement of vaccination. This type of monitoring should be included in the information subsystem of epidemiological surveillance over vaccination as an independent component used on a regular basis.

vaccination, adherence, epidemiological surveillance