Habib Muhammad Atif, Tabassum Farhana, Hussain Imtiaz, Khan Tooba Jawed, Syed Nazia, Shaheen Fariha, Soofi Sajid Bashir, Bhutta Zulfiqar A
Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
Institute for Global Health and Development, Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Jul 5;11(7):1206. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11071206.
Pakistan is one of the few countries where poliovirus transmission still persists, despite intensive efforts to eradicate the disease. Adequate vaccination coverage is essential to achieve polio eradication, but misconceptions about polio vaccines have hindered vaccination efforts. To address this issue, we conducted a mixed-methods study to explore knowledge and perceptions regarding polio disease and immunization in high-risk areas of Pakistan. We collected quantitative data from 3780, 1258, and 2100 households in Karachi, Bajaur, and Pishin, respectively, and supplemented this with qualitative data from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Our findings reveal a high level of awareness about polio and its immunization; however, misperceptions about the polio vaccine persist, leading to refusal for both polio vaccines and routine immunizations. Our study provides up-to-date data on knowledge and perceptions of polio and its immunization and identifies critical gaps. These findings can inform the development of future strategies and innovative approaches to improve the success of the polio program in Pakistan.
巴基斯坦是少数几个尽管为根除脊髓灰质炎付出了巨大努力但脊髓灰质炎病毒传播仍持续存在的国家之一。足够的疫苗接种覆盖率对于实现消灭脊髓灰质炎至关重要，但对脊髓灰质炎疫苗的误解阻碍了疫苗接种工作。为解决这一问题，我们开展了一项混合方法研究，以探讨巴基斯坦高危地区对脊髓灰质炎疾病和免疫接种的认识与看法。我们分别从卡拉奇、巴焦尔和皮申的3780户、1258户和2100户家庭收集了定量数据，并通过焦点小组讨论和深入访谈补充了定性数据。我们的研究结果显示，人们对脊髓灰质炎及其免疫接种有较高认识；然而，对脊髓灰质炎疫苗的误解仍然存在，导致拒绝接种脊髓灰质炎疫苗和常规免疫疫苗。我们的研究提供了关于脊髓灰质炎及其免疫接种的知识和看法的最新数据，并确定了关键差距。这些研究结果可为制定未来战略和创新方法提供参考，以提高巴基斯坦脊髓灰质炎项目的成功率。
