Barriers to pneumococcal conjugate 13 vaccination recommendations among physicians in Lagos

Abstract

Objective: Vaccination rates among risk groups vary between different countries. There are gaps in the implementation of the acceptable recommended guidelines on adult pneumococcal immunization in Nigeria. This study aims to evaluate the barriers for physicians in recommending pneumococcal vaccines. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey involving 97 physicians. Self-administered questionnaires were sent electronically to the physicians to understand the barriers to adult pneumococcal vaccine recommendations among adult physicians in Lagos. The sample size was based on estimation using the Cochrane formula. Results: Ninety-seven (97) physicians completed the questionnaire with a male to female ratio of 1:1.3. The mean age of the responders was 39.54±6.2 years. About 73(81.1%) of physicians recommended the pneumococcal vaccine and most physicians recommended the vaccine for patients with chronic lung diseases. The common barriers for vaccine recommendation include: unavailability (53; 54.6%), poor reminder systems (43; 44.3%), inadequate insurance coverage (33; 34%), and Vaccine shortage (31; 32%). Conclusions: This study suggests that the majority of physicians recommend pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. The major barriers to vaccination include poor access, availability, and cost. There is a need to increase access, cost, and availability of pneumococcal vaccine if the narrative must change.

Pneumococcal vaccine uptake and its associated factors among adult patients with congestive cardiac failure seen in a tertiary facility in Lagos, Nigeria

“…Akinbodewa also documented a poor influenza and HBV vaccination rate among CKD 17 patients. This poor rate of vaccination may probably be related to the fact that there are presently no locally available guidelines for vaccination of adults and at-risk population in 10,14 Nigeria. However, this may not entirely be the sole reason, as poor vaccination rate has also been documented in developed countries with [19][20][21][22][23][24] pneumococcal vaccination guidelines.…”

“…There are two common types of pneumococcal vaccines which either use a polysaccharide capsular antigen alone (PPV) or conjugated to a carrier 12,13 protein (PCV). The PCV is the commonly used 14,15 pneumococcal vaccine in Nigeria. While these vaccines have routinely been used in the pediatric population, its use in the adult patients with organ failure has not been well documented probably as a result of the absence local guidelines and recommendations for vaccination of at-risk adult 10,14,15 patients.…”