The purpose of this study was to examine family doctors’ and paediatricians’ knowledge, attitudes, and practises regarding teenage vaccination. Participants were asked 31 questions on their personal socioeconomic factors as well as their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours about teenage immunisation. The research included 348 family doctors and 317 paediatricians. In all, 15.8 percent of family doctors and 12.7 percent of paediatricians provided adolescents with vaccination information ‘always/most of the time.’ There were several explanations given for not giving information regarding teenage vaccines, including “inability to dedicate time,” “forgetfulness,” “lack of understanding about vaccines,” and “no need to immunise adolescents.” Only 30.5 percent of family doctors and 38.8 percent of paediatricians advised HPV vaccination for females. The percentages of family doctors and paediatricians who did not suggest Tdap vaccination for adolescents were 53.4 percent and 42.6 percent, respectively. Meningococcal vaccination was not advised by 20.7 percent of family doctors and 11.4 percent of paediatricians, and influenza vaccination was not recommended by 10.3 percent of family doctors and 8.2 percent of paediatricians.
In Turkey, family doctors and paediatricians suggest vaccination to teenagers at a low rate. Inability to dedicate time, forgetfulness, and a lack of understanding about vaccinations are all reasons for not advocating immunisation. Researchers suggest that educational initiatives should be utilised to increase family doctors’ and paediatricians’ awareness of adolescent vaccination.
Reference: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2020.1715146
