The Study of Parents’ Convictions and Attitudes to the Vaccination Against Rotavirus Gastroenteritis in Ukraine
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
Abstract
Rotavirus Gastroenteritis (RVGE) is one of the most frequent causes of diarrhea in children that can lead to severe dehydration. Specific etiotropic therapy of RVGE is absent but the disease can be prevented by vaccination that is recommended by WHO for inclusion in all national programs. In Ukraine, vaccination against RVGE is non-mandatory; whereas peoples’ confidence in vaccination is low.
The objective: the study aimed to investigate parents’ awareness about RVGE and rotavirus vaccines, positive and negative influencers on having their babies getting vaccinated against RVGE and sources of information.
Materials and methods. This qualitative study included structured discussions with parents of children less than 5 years old. The parents were distributed into six groups based on criteria of RVGE presence/absence in medical history and place of residence (large city, medium-sized city, and village). Descriptive thematic analysis of discussions using verbatim transcripts in Microsoft Word files was conducted using MAXQDA qualitative data analysis software.
Results. The majority of parents are aware about RVGE. The sources of this knowledge are; internet, experience from other parents, and communication with healthcare practitioners (including nurses). The level of knowledge about rotavirus vaccine is low and the majority of parents learned about it after their children were too old to receive the vaccine. Parents whose children have experienced severe RVGE doubt that they would vaccinate their children, even if they knew about the existence of a vaccine prior to the disease. The causes of such doubts are lack of trust in healthcare practitioners and non-mandatory status of the vaccine.
Conclusions. Informing parents about RVGE vaccination, when the child is too old to receive it, appears to be the main barrier. Additional barriers include the overall lack of information about vaccination, the unavailability of the vaccine against RVGE, and the need to pay for it due to its non-mandatory status.
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the first publication of original scientific articles under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which allows others to distribute work with acknowledgment of authorship and first publication in this journal.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rotavirus vaccine is the best way to protect your child against rotavirus disease [Internet]. USA: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; 2021. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/rotavirus/index.html.
World Health Organization. URL: https://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/rotavirus/en/
Tate JE, Burton AH, Boschi-Pinto C, Steele A ,Duque J, Parashar UD, et al. 2008 estimate of worldwide rotavirus-associated mortality in children younger than 5 years before the introduction of universal rotavirus vaccination programmes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2012;12(2):136-41. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(11)70253-5.
Mirzayeva R, Cortese MM, Mosina L, Biellik R, Lobanov A, Chernyshova L, et al. Rotavirus burden among children in the newly independent states of the former union of soviet socialist republics: literature review and first-year results from the rotavirus surveillance network. J Infect Dis 2009 Nov 1;200 Suppl 1:S203-14. doi: 10.1086/605041.
World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/immunization/monitoring_surveillance/burden/estimates/rotavirus/en/
Kozishkurt O, Babienko V, Golubyatnikov M, Amvrosieva T, Maksymenko Yu, Savchuk A. Modern etiological structure of acute gastroenterocolitis in the southern Ukraine. Georgian Med News. 2019;(290):77-85.
Chernyshova LI, Radionova NM, Demchyshyna IV, Kotlik LS, Sadkova OB, Samoilovich EO, et al. Observations on the epidemiology of rotavirus infection among hospitalized children younger than 5 years in 2 Ukrainian hospitals, 2007-2015. Vaccine. 2018;36(51):7798-804. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.11.044.
World Health Organization. Rotavirus vaccines : WHO position paper – January 2013 = Vaccins antirotavirus: Note de synthèse de l’OMS. Weekly Epidemiological Record = Relevé epidemiologique hebdomadaire [Internet]. Geneva: WHO. 2013;88(05):49-64. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/242024.
Міністерство охорони здоров’я України. Про удосконалення проведення профілактичних щеплень в Україні [Інтернет]. 2014. Наказ від № 551. 2014 Лип 11. Доступно на: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/ru/z1237-14#n18.
Міністерство охорони здоров’я України. Про внесення змін до Календаря профілактичних щеплень в Україні [Інтернет]. 2018. Наказ № 947. 2018 Трав 18. Доступно на: https://moz.gov.ua/article/ministry-mandates/nakaz-moz-ukraini-vid-18052018--947-pro-vnesennja-zmin-do-kalendarja-profilaktichnih-scheplen-v-ukraini.
World Health Organization. Rotavirus vaccine introduction and coverage [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018. 12 p. Available from: https://rotacouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ROTA-Brief1-Introduction-SP-1-1.pdf.
Міністерство охорони здоров’я України. Про затвердження Методики розрахунку потреби в медичних імунобіологічних препаратах (вакцинах) та медичних виробах, які використовуються для профілактичних щеплень, та Порядку визначення потреби в медичних імунобіологічних препаратах (вакцинах) та медичних виробах, які використовуються для профілактичних щеплень [Інтернет]. 2018. Наказ № 948. 2018 Трав 18. Доступно на: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0664-18.
World Health Organization. Information for Policy Makers, Programme Managers, and Health Workers. [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2013. 76 p. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/90374/WHO_IVB_13.08_eng.pdf;jsessionid=0C99AAFF8209C062490DF1E5C4DC71FA?sequence=1.
Zmey P, Sorokopud N,. Brune AM. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund [Internet]. Geneva: UNICEF; 2019. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/stories/undeniable-power-vaccines.
Chapter 5: Attitudes to vaccines. Chapter 5 [Internet]. London: Wellcome Global Monitor; 2018. Available from: https://wellcome.org/reports/wellcomeglobal-monitor/2018/chapter-5-attitudes-vaccines.
Parez N, Giaquinto C, Du Roure C, Martinon-Torres F, Spoulou V, Van Damme P, et al. Rotavirus vaccination in Europe: drivers and barriers. Lancet Infect Dis. 2014;14(5):416-25. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(14)70035-0.
Vecchio AL, Liguoro I, Dias JA, Berkley JA, Boey C, Cohen MB, et al. Rotavirus immunization: Global coverage and local barriers for implementation. Vaccine. 2017;35(12):1637-44. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.01.082.
Apte A, Roy S, Bavdekar A, Juvekar S, Hirve S. Facilitators and barriers for use of rotavirus vaccine amongst various stakeholders and its implications for Indian context – A systematic review. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2018;14(11):2760-7. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2018.1489190.
World Health Organization. Adding a vaccine to a national immunization programme: decision and implementation [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2005. 57 p. Available from: https://www.who.int/immunization/hpv/plan/vaccine_introduction_guidelines_who_2005.pdf.
Muleme J, Kankya C, Ssempebwa JC, Mazeri S, Muwonge A. Framework for integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Data in Knowledge, attitude, and Practice studies: a case study of Pesticide Usage in eastern Uganda. Front Public Health. 2017;5:318. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00318.
Weldon CT, Riley-Powell AR, Aguerre IM, Celis Nacimento RA, Amy CM, Oberhelman RA, et al. “Zika is everywhere”: A qualitative exploration of knowledge, attitudes and practices towards Zika virus among women of reproductive age in Iquitos, Peru. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018;12(8):e0006708. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006708.
Capurchande R, Coene G, Roelens K, Meulemans H. “If I have only two children and they die… who will take care of me?”– a qualitative study exploring knowledge, attitudes and practices about family planning among Mozambican female and male adults. BMC Women’s Health. 2017;17(1):66. doi: 10.1186/s12905-017-0419-6.
Glanz K, Rimer BK, Viswanath K, editors. Health behavior and health education: theory, research, and practice. USA: John Wiley & Sons; 2008. 592 p.
Heid C, Knobloch MJ, Schulz LT, Safdar N. Use of the health belief model to study patient perceptions of antimicrobial stewardship in the acute care setting. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2016;37(5):576-82. doi: 10.1017/ice.2015.342.