arriers to vaccination, as well as the critical role of healthcare professionals (HCPs) in influencing immunization decisions made by parents/patients, have been widely documented. There is little information available on the difficulties that HCPs encounter when doing their duties as vaccinators. Participants discussed obstacles affecting their skill and motivation as vaccinators and offered essential solutions to the most pressing issues. A total of 75 nurses and physicians from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and India took part in a two-hour focus group discussion. There was a gap between how participants saw their involvement in protecting population health when they began their careers and the reality of real-world practice today. The challenges encountered and commented on were comparable across professional groups and nations. Low patient-level vaccine knowledge, patient miseducation, delayed vaccine information, frequently changing vaccine schedules, time constraints, a lack of centralized record systems, pressure to meet vaccination targets, and, in some cases, vaccine costs all had an impact on HCPs’ efficiency and enthusiasm. Enhanced patient-level information, training HCPs with useful information, and practical methods to minimize the vaccination burden through improved administrative processes and centralized record keeping along with delegating vaccinator duties were identified as solutions by the same providers.
This focus group provides unique insight into the needs of HCPs in order for them to perform their duty as vaccinators. The continued effectiveness of vaccination programs and the proposed life-course immunization approach is dependent on vaccinators being supported and equipped.
Reference: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2019.1621147
