Timeliness of childhood vaccinations in Armenia, 2015–2016

Agopian, Anya; Young, Heather A.; Quinlan, Scott; Rice, Madeline Murguia

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.05.032

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Although vaccines are highly accepted by the general population, even in countries with high vaccination compliance, a significant number of children, adolescents, and young adults are not completely vaccinated due to a lack of opportunities or various concerns and misperceptions [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Emerging adulthood, a distinct developmental period from the late teens to the late twenties with unique changes in physical, emotional, and psychological development, may have a notable impact on immunization compliance with national schedule.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vaccination Coverage during Childhood and Adolescence among Undergraduate Health Science Students in Greece

et al. 2022

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High rates of vaccination coverage in childhood represent one of the most important cost-effective tools of primary prevention and have substantially reduced the incidence of and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases globally. Vaccination coverage of young people has not been well estimated in Greece. Anonymous self-completed questionnaires and the participants’ Child Health Booklet were used to estimate complete vaccination coverage of mandatory vaccinations against vaccine-preventable diseases of undergraduate students at the University of West Attica during the academic year 2020–2021. Student’s t-tests were used to estimate mean values. Overall, 79% (95% CI: 78–81%) of study participants were fully vaccinated. This coverage was lower in males especially for vaccines that should be done during childhood (p = 0.045). High vaccination percentage (>90%) was observed for the meningococcus group A, C, W135, Y, measles-mumps-rubella, hepatitis B and meningitis C vaccine. Nevertheless, suboptimal coverage was assessed for the booster dose of tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, for the human papillomavirus vaccine among girls, for the tuberculosis, for the meningococcus group B, for the pneumococcal, and for the seasonal influenza vaccines. In conclusion, the promotion of routine vaccination programs for young adults needs to be strengthened. An identification system for under-vaccinated students, an efficient reminder system and university campus vaccine program practices should be established, particularly among males.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vaccination Coverage during Childhood and Adolescence among Undergraduate Health Science Students in Greece

et al. 2022

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“…No specific questions were asked regarding physicians’ practice in administering the vaccine or not to eligible patients, as information on practice is taken from figures on vaccination coverage in Armenia recorded by existing studies, which show that it is very low compared to other countries [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Our study sought to explore the reasons for this, which we assume are influenced by the knowledge and attitudes we discuss above.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Armenia has consistently displayed lower levels of vaccine confidence than surrounding countries and Europe as a whole [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], with Armenians showing low levels of trust in vaccines being safe, effective and/or important [ 1 ]. This has significant implications for control and prevention of vaccine-controllable diseases and presents a challenge in that the frequency of novel diseases, for which new vaccines need to be developed, is predicted to increase during the 21st century [ 4 ], risking further pandemics such as that caused by COVID-19 [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Physicians Regarding Vaccinations in Yerevan, Armenia: A Case Study of HPV

et al. 2021

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This paper highlights the low levels of vaccine coverage and high levels of reported vaccination hesitancy in Yerevan, Armenia, that present profound challenges to the control of disease through routine vaccination programmes. We draw on investigations of hesitancy towards the introduction of new vaccines, using the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil as a case study, to interrogate underlying challenges to vaccine acceptance. We analyse primary data from the introduction of Gardasil, first used in Armenia in 2017, to investigate how levels of medical knowledge amongst physicians in 20 health facilities in Yerevan, Armenia, regarding vaccine science influence attitudes towards the introduction of a newly developed vaccine. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was completed by 348 physicians between December 2017 and September 2018. The responding physicians displayed a respectable level of knowledge and awareness regarding vaccination with respect to some characteristics (e.g., more than 81% knew that HPV infection was commonly asymptomatic, 73% knew that HPV infection was implicated in most cervical cancers, and 87% knew that cervical cancer is the most prevalent cancer amongst women) but low knowledge and poor understanding of other key issues such as the age at which women were most likely to develop cervical cancer (only 15% answered correctly), whether or not the vaccine should be administered to people who had already been infected (27% answered correctly) and whether sexually active young people should be treated for infection before vaccination (26% answered correctly). The study suggests that the drivers of vaccine hesitancy are complex and may not be consistent from vaccine to vaccine. The Armenian healthcare sector may need to provide additional training, awareness-raising and educational activities alongside the introduction of new vaccines to improve understanding of and trust in vaccination programmes.

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“…The survey was conducted by face-to-face interview in each physician’s usual place of work. The required sample size was calculated using the Estimate-proportion n=z 2 *pq/d 2 formula. 22 Of a total population of 405 eligible participants, 348 (90.3%) returned surveys with consent given and all sections completed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Armenia has consistently displayed lower levels of vaccine confidence than surrounding countries and with Europe as a whole 1,2,3 with Armenians showing low levels of trust in vaccines as safe, effective and/or important. 1 This has significant implications for control and prevention of not only common endemic diseases but of emerging diseases, the frequency of which is predicted to increase during the 21 st century 4 , risking further pandemics such as COVID-19 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Knowledge and Attitude of Physicians Regarding Vaccinations in Yerevan, Armenia: Challenges for COVID-19

Badalyan

Hovhannisyan

Ghavalyan

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background This primary-data analysis investigates the current level of awareness and medical knowledge of physicians in 20 health facilities in Yerevan, Armenia regarding vaccination, specifically with regard to HPV infection and the recently-introduced Gardasil vaccine used against HPV infection that may have implications for successful roll-outs of national programmes for new vaccines, including those for COVID-19. Methods A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was completed by 348 physicians who met the study inclusion criteria, from 20 out of 36 randomly selected healthcare facilities in Yerevan, Armenia, between Dec 2017 to Sep 2018. The aim of the questionnaire was to identify physicians awareness of and attitudes to HPV-related cervical cancer and the Gardasil vaccine. Responses were analysed using SPSS software (Version 16). Results The responding physicians displayed a respectable level of knowledge and awareness regarding vaccination with regard to some characteristics (e.g. more than 81% knew that HPV infection was commonly asymptomatic, 87% were knew that HPV infection was implicated in most cervical cancers and 87% knew that cervical cancer is the most prevalent cancer amongst women) but low knowledge in others and poor understanding of key issues such as the age at which women were most likely to develop cervical cancer (only 15% answered correctly); whether or not the vaccine should be administered to people who had already been affected (27% answered correctly) and whether sexually active young people should be treated for infection before vaccination (26%). Lack of confidence within the surveyed groups regarding the value of vaccination and, in particular concerns over the reasons for administering it to certain age cohorts, was driven by misconceptions. Conclusions Armenian physicians awareness of vaccine characteristics, the reasons for their inclusion in the national vaccination programme and the characteristics of the diseases they treat can be poor. The study further suggests that drivers of vaccine hesitancy are complex, may not be consistent from vaccine to vaccine, and may vary from generation to generation. The Armenian healthcare sector may need to provide additional training, awareness-raising and educational activities to improve understanding of and trust in vaccination programmes. Further studies are warranted to better understand knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding immunization and vaccination programmes amongst Armenian healthcare workers.

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Timeliness of childhood vaccinations in Armenia, 2015–2016

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

Vaccination Coverage during Childhood and Adolescence among Undergraduate Health Science Students in Greece

Vaccination Coverage during Childhood and Adolescence among Undergraduate Health Science Students in Greece

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Physicians Regarding Vaccinations in Yerevan, Armenia: A Case Study of HPV

The Knowledge and Attitude of Physicians Regarding Vaccinations in Yerevan, Armenia: Challenges for COVID-19

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