Beni Alessandra, Mazzilli Sara, Bellino Elisabetta, Costagliola Giorgio, Ferretti Elena, Lopalco Pier Luigi, Tavoschi Lara, Peroni Diego Giampietro
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pediatrics, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
Scuola Normale Superiore, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
Vaccines (Basel). 2021 Oct 20;9(11):1217. doi: 10.3390/vaccines9111217.
(1) Background: Children with chronic medical conditions may be at increased risk for severe complications related to vaccine-preventable infections. Therefore, additional booster doses or supplementary vaccines are recommended, over and above the routine immunization schedule for healthy children. The aim of this study was to investigate attitude, knowledge, and practices toward additional vaccinations for children affected by chronic conditions among pediatricians and parents. (2) Methods: This study is based on two surveys: (i) a national cross-sectional survey, targeting pediatrician working in hospitals or in the primary health sector; (ii) a local cross-sectional survey, targeting parents of children with a previous diagnosis of chronic disease. (3) Results: Despite the fact that most of the health professionals and parents interviewed had an overall positive vaccine attitude, most pediatricians did not show an adequate knowledge of additional vaccinations for children affected by chronic diseases. Moreover, the coverage of additional recommended vaccinations in chronic pediatric patients was low. (4) Conclusions: This research highlighted important existing challenges hampering optimal vaccination coverage among pediatric chronic patients, including knowledge gaps on tailored vaccination schedules among pediatricians and organizational issues. The ongoing review of the Italian national immunization plan is a not-to-be-missed-opportunity to include evidence-based, detailed, and comprehensive recommendations on vaccinations for children affected by chronic conditions.
(1) 背景：患有慢性疾病的儿童可能面临与疫苗可预防感染相关的严重并发症风险增加的情况。因此，除了健康儿童的常规免疫接种计划外，还建议额外接种加强剂量疫苗或补充疫苗。本研究的目的是调查儿科医生和家长对患有慢性疾病儿童额外接种疫苗的态度、知识和做法。(2) 方法：本研究基于两项调查：(i) 一项全国性横断面调查，针对在医院或初级卫生部门工作的儿科医生；(ii) 一项地方性横断面调查，针对先前诊断患有慢性疾病儿童的家长。(3) 结果：尽管大多数接受采访的卫生专业人员和家长对疫苗总体持积极态度，但大多数儿科医生对患有慢性疾病儿童的额外接种疫苗知识了解不足。此外，慢性儿科患者中额外推荐疫苗接种的覆盖率较低。(4) 结论：本研究突出了阻碍儿科慢性病患者实现最佳疫苗接种覆盖率的重要现有挑战，包括儿科医生对定制疫苗接种计划的知识差距和组织问题。对意大利国家免疫计划的正在进行的审查是一个不容错过的机会，可纳入关于患有慢性疾病儿童疫苗接种的循证、详细和全面的建议。
