Across the literature, few strategies to address vaccine hesitancy were found to have been evaluated for impact on either vaccination uptake and/or changes in knowledge, awareness or attitude (only 14% of peer reviewed and 25% of grey literature). The majority of evaluation studies were based in the Americas and primarily focused on influenza, human papillomavirus (HPV) and childhood vaccines. In low- and middle-income regions, the focus was on diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, and polio. Across all regions, most interventions were multi-component and the majority of strategies focused on raising knowledge and awareness. Thirteen relevant studies were used for the GRADE assessment that indicated evidence of moderate quality for the use of social mobilization, mass media, communication tool-based training for health-care workers, non-financial incentives and reminder/recall-based interventions. Overall, our results showed that multicomponent and dialogue-based interventions were most effective. However, given the complexity of vaccine hesitancy and the limited evidence available on how it can be addressed, identified strategies should be carefully tailored according to the target population, their reasons for hesitancy, and the specific context.
In March 2012, the SAGE Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy was convened to define the term "vaccine hesitancy", as well as to map the determinants of vaccine hesitancy and develop tools to measure and address the nature and scale of hesitancy in settings where it is becoming more evident. The definition of vaccine hesitancy and a matrix of determinants guided the development of a survey tool to assess the nature and scale of hesitancy issues. Additionally, vaccine hesitancy questions were piloted in the annual WHO-UNICEF joint reporting form, completed by National Immunization Managers globally. The objective of characterizing the nature and scale of vaccine hesitancy issues is to better inform the development of appropriate strategies and policies to address the concerns expressed, and to sustain confidence in vaccination. The Working Group developed a matrix of the determinants of vaccine hesitancy informed by a systematic review of peer reviewed and grey literature, and by the expertise of the working group. The matrix mapped the key factors influencing the decision to accept, delay or reject some or all vaccines under three categories: contextual, individual and group, and vaccine-specific. These categories framed the menu of survey questions presented in this paper to help diagnose and address vaccine hesitancy.
Maternal vaccination has been evaluated and found to be extremely effective at preventing illness in pregnant women and new-borns; however, uptake of such programmes has been low in some areas. To analyse factors contributing to uptake of vaccines globally, a systematic review on vaccine hesitancy was carried out by The Vaccine Confidence Project in 2012. In order to further analyse factors contributing to uptake of maternal immunisation, a further search within the broader systematic review was conducted using the terms 'Pregnan*' or 'Matern*'. Forty-two articles were identified. Pregnancy-related articles were further screened to identify those focused on concerns, trust and access issues regarding maternal vaccination reported by pregnant women and healthcare workers. Thirty-five relevant articles were included which were then searched using the snowballing technique to identify additional relevant references cited in these articles. A search alert was also conducted from February to April 2015 in PubMed to ensure that no new relevant articles were missed. A total of 155 relevant articles were included. Most of the literature which was identified on hesitancy surrounding vaccination during pregnancy reports on determinants of influenza vaccine uptake in North America. Research conducted in low-income countries focused primarily on tetanus vaccine acceptance. The main barriers cited were related to vaccine safety, belief that vaccine not needed or effective, not recommended by healthcare worker, low knowledge about vaacines, access issues, cost, conflicting advice. From the point of view of healthcare workers, barriers included inadequate training, inadequate reimbursement and increased workload. Twenty-seven out of 46 (59%) articles mentioning ethnicity reported lower rates of coverage among ethnic minorities. Barriers to vaccination in pregnancy are complex and vary depending on context and population. There are wide gaps in knowledge regarding the attitudes of healthcare workers and how ethnicity and gender dynamics influence a pregnant woman's decision to vaccinate.
In June 2013 the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW) suspended its HPV vaccination recommendation after a series of highly publicized alleged adverse events following immunization stoked public doubts about the vaccine's safety. This paper examines the global spread of the news of Japan's HPV vaccine suspension through online media, and takes a retrospective look at non-Japanese media sources that were used to support those claiming HPV vaccine injury in Japan. Methods: Two searches were conducted. One searched relevant content in an archive of Google Alerts on vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases. The second search was conducted using Google Search on January 6th 2014 and on July 18th 2014, using the keywords, “HPV vaccine Japan” and “cervical cancer vaccine Japan.” Both searches were used as Google Searches render more (and some different) results than Google Alerts. Results: Online media collected and analyzed totalled 57. Sixty 3 percent were published in the USA, 23% in Japan, 5% in the UK, 2% in France, 2% in Switzerland, 2% in the Philippines, 2% in Kenya and 2% in Denmark. The majority took a negative view of the HPV vaccine, the primary concern being vaccine safety. Discussion: The news of Japan's suspension of the HPV vaccine recommendation has traveled globally through online media and social media networks, being applauded by anti-vaccination groups but not by the global scientific community. The longer the uncertainty around the Japanese HPV vaccine recommendation persists, the further the public concerns are likely to travel.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.