PURPOSE: Despite the well-known public health benefits of vaccination, increasing public concern about the safety of childhood vaccinations has led some parents to refuse or hesitate having their children immunized. The purpose of this study was to identify the subjectivity of parents toward refusal of childhood vaccination. METHODS: Q-methodology, in which subjective viewpoints are explored and analyzed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques, was used. Thirty-five participants were asked to rank 42 statements on diverse issues of childhood vaccination according to a continuous 9-point scale ranging from -4 for strongly disagree to +4 for strongly agree. Collected data was analyzed using the PC-QUANAL program. RESULTS: The results revealed three discrete groups of parents in the refusal of children's immunization: type I, distrust; type II, concern about side effects, and type III, belief that vaccinations are unnecessary. CONCLUSION: Special nurse counselors who can provide correct information about vaccination based on the three types should be part of the government policy. Customized education programs to shift viewpoints should be also redeveloped according to the results in this study.
Child ; Counseling ; Disulfiram ; Humans ; Parents ; Public Health ; Rejection (Psychology) ; Vaccination

The number of children undergoing successful renal transplantations has been increasing steadily and as a result, general pediatricians are now more likely to encounter children with a kidney allograft in their practice. Although the medical care immediately after transplantation is mostly provided by transplant teams, more and more outpatient care will eventually be performed at the patient's local community. Medical care from general pediatricians is particularly important, especially for children who are residing far from transplant centers. As these children require prolong immunosuppressive therapies and are susceptible to various specific clinical problems, it is imperative for their primary care providers and pediatricians to be knowledgeable about their specific needs and be competent in providing care. This article highlights the roles and common practice related issues that pertain to general pediatricians in the care of pediatric renal allograft recipients.
Child ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Kidney Transplantation ; adverse effects ; psychology ; Pediatrics ; Vaccination

PURPOSE: Despite the ready availability of pneumococcal vaccine, vaccination rates are quite low in South Korea. This study was designed to assess perceptions and awareness about pneumococcal vaccines among subjects at risk and find strategies to increases vaccine coverage rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional, community-based survey was conducted to assess perceptions about the pneumococcal vaccine at a local public health center. In a tertiary hospital, an outpatient-based pneumococcal vaccine campaign was carried out for the elderly and individuals with chronic co-morbidities from May to July of 2007. RESULTS: Based on the survey, only 7.6% were ever informed about pneumococcal vaccination. The coverage rates of the pneumococcal vaccine before and after the hospital campaign showed an increased annual rate from 3.39% to 5.91%. The most common reason for vaccination was "doctor's advice" (53.3%). As for the reasons for not receiving vaccination, about 75% of high risk patients were not aware of the pneumococcal vaccine, which was the most important barrier to vaccination. Negative clinician's attitude was the second most common cause of non-vaccination. CONCLUSION: Annual outpatient-based campaigns early in the influenza season may improve pneumococcal vaccine coverage rates. Doctor's advice was the most important encouraging factor for vaccination.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Ambulatory Care ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Immunization Programs ; Male ; Patients/*psychology ; Physicians/*psychology ; *Pneumococcal Vaccines ; Republic of Korea ; Vaccination/*psychology

Adult ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Influenza Vaccines ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vaccination ; psychology ; statistics & numerical data

Influenza viruses have raised public health concerns by seasonal epidemics and intermittent pandemics. Vaccination is considered as the most effective method for preventing influenza infection in humans. Current influenza vaccines are mostly produced in fertile chicken eggs. However, disadvantages of egg-based vaccines, such as egg dependency, labor-intensive manufacturing system, and huddle for large-scale output, allow us to make an alternative method. A cell-culture platform may be a fine alternative for the next generation vaccine technique. Compared with a classical egg-based method, cell-grown vaccines provide stable pipeline even in the pandemic situation with shorter lead-in times. In addition, cell-grown vaccines are flexible for altering production scales because stocked cell batches can be easily sub-cultured in large quantity without worrying avian diseases and a resultant decrease in egg production. By World Health Organization, MDCK, PER.C6, and Vero cells are only recommended for manufacturing influenza vaccines. In this review, we discuss the necessity, immunogenicity, and efficacy of cell-grown influenza vaccines compared with egg-based vaccines.
Animals ; Bird Diseases ; Chickens ; Dependency (Psychology) ; Eggs ; Humans ; Influenza Vaccines ; Influenza, Human ; Orthomyxoviridae ; Ovum ; Pandemics ; Public Health ; Seasons ; Vaccination ; Vaccines ; Vero Cells ; Weights and Measures ; World Health Organization

PURPOSE: This study was done to examine the actual state of influenza vaccination among pregnant women and factors affecting vaccination rate. METHODS: Data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Participants were pregnant women who participated in a prenatal education program at an acute care hospital in 2013. Data collected from 218 pregnant women were analyzed using the SPSS 18.0 Program. RESULTS: Only 48.6% of the pregnant women had received vaccination when the influenza was prevalent. Statistically significant factors affecting the influenza vaccination rate among pregnant women were vaccination experience in the previous year, knowledge and attitude about vaccination, and gestation period. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that the influenza vaccination rate among pregnant women is lower than that of elders, healthcare workers, and patients with chronic diseases, who have been considered to be the mandatory vaccination recipients. Therefore, it is necessary to develop programs and policies which provide information including safety of vaccines for pregnant women and to induce positive attitudes towards vaccination for these women, in order to ultimately improve the vaccination rate.
Adult ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Influenza Vaccines/*immunology ; Influenza, Human/*prevention & control ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women/*psychology ; Questionnaires ; Vaccination/*statistics & numerical data

PURPOSE:This study was performed to determine the clinical course of BCG lymphadenitis. METHODS:Between May 2005 and April 2009, the medical records of 33 patients with BCG lymphadenitis were retrospectively reviewed. If needed, needle aspiration was recommended without surgical resection or antituberculous medication. RESULTS:Of the 33 patients who were identified, 21 were males and 12 were females. Among the 33 patients, 32 were full-term babies. The mean age was 6 months (range, 2-35 months) and the most prevalent site of the lesion was the left axilla. BCG lymphadenitis was observed 1-34 months after BCG vaccination, mostly 1-6 months after vaccination. The size of the enlargement was generally 1-3 cm. The strains were identified as French (n=14), Danish (n=7), and Tokyo (n=12). BCG lymphadenitis regressed spontaneously in 19 patients. After 1-5 needle aspirations, 14 patients recovered completely. Complete regression of lymphadenitis was recorded over an average period of 4 months. CONCLUSION:Clinicians need to be aware of the clinical features of BCG lymphadenitis. For management of BCG lymphadenitis, regular follow-up with observation should be the mainstay. Needle aspiration is a safe and easy treatment for suppurative BCG lymphadenitis.
Aspirations (Psychology) ; Axilla ; BCG Vaccine ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymphadenitis ; Male ; Medical Records ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Needles ; Retrospective Studies ; Tokyo ; Vaccination

BACKGROUND: Even after pneumococcal vaccination introduction, Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumoccocus) is still an important cause of respiratory and invasive severe infection. Pneumococcus is resided in nasal mucosa and local or systemic infection begins with the nasal mucosa damage. We studied the indirect effect of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) on pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage rates, serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility between vaccinate and non-vaccinated children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2010 to October 2010, 379 healthy children under 5 years old from three university hospitals were recruited. Fully vaccinated children over 3 time doses of PCV and children with no vaccination history of PCV were enrolled, and nasopharyngeal aspirations were obtained from these children. Serotypes using multibead serotyping assay with multiplex PCR and antimicrobial susceptibility was analyzed. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined by the CLIS guideline. RESULTS: Two hundred seventy six children were received pneumococcal vaccination while 103 were not. 137 pneumococci were isolated from nasopharyngeal aspiration specimens. Nasal carriage rate was significantly low in vaccinated group (P-value; 0.001). Nasopharyngeal carriage rate was 28.6% (79/276) in vaccinate group and 56.3% (58/103) in non-vaccinated group. Among those vaccinated group, 13.0% (36/276) of the serotypes were vaccine or vaccine related type with the most common type 19F. In contrast, 31.1% (32/103) of the serotypes in non vaccinated group were vaccine or vaccine related type with the most common type 6A. The resistant rate of penicillin was 90.5%. For antimicrobial susceptibility, amoxicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanate showed high susceptibility (73.0%), but 19F and 19A serotypes were all resistant against amoxicillin. CONCLUSIONS: High nasopharyngeal carriage rate in non vaccinated group corresponded to the result of past study. However, 19F and 19A still came up as problematic serotypes with a high carriage rate and antimicrobial resistance in both vaccinated and non vaccinated groups. Also, this study showed that the resistance rate of primary oral antimicrobial agents was increased in compared to past. For solving these problems, the selective antimicrobial use with establishment of high dose amoxicillin/clavulanate regimen and active PCV immunization should be needed. Furthermore, pneumococcal carriage and serotype study concerning with antimicrobial susceptibility should be conducted in the future in 10 or 13-valent PCV received children.
Amoxicillin ; Anti-Infective Agents ; Aspirations (Psychology) ; Child ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Immunization ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Nasal Mucosa ; Penicillins ; Porphyrins ; Serotyping ; Streptococcus ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Vaccination

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to survey the current state of measles vaccination in university nursing students during a measles outbreak and to identify factors influencing nursing students' vaccination rate. METHODS: In 2014, this study used a self-administered questionnaire to survey 380 university nursing students. Factors influencing measles vaccination were identified through logistic regression analysis using variables between the vaccinated and nonvaccinated groups. RESULTS: Measles vaccination rate was 52.1%. The vaccination rate was significantly higher in juniors, seniors, and those who had heard about measles. In relation to health beliefs, the measles vaccination rate was higher when perceived benefits were high and perceived barriers were low. CONCLUSIONS: A systematic measles vaccination program targeting nursing students upon their entry to university is needed. In order to increase the measles vaccination rate, application of effective promotion campaigns and education programs is necessary.
Adult ; Disease Outbreaks/*prevention & control ; Female ; *Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Immunization Programs/*statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Measles/*prevention & control ; Republic of Korea ; Students, Nursing/*psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Universities ; Vaccination/*psychology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To investigate factors influencing commitment to human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination and prior vaccination among female college students in northern Taiwan. METHODS: A quota sample of 400 female college students was recruited from nine colleges in northern Taiwan during March 2013. Of these, 398 completed the self administered questionnaire which was designed based on the health promotion model. RESULTS: The results showed that factors associated with prior vaccination behavior were family history of gynecologic malignancy, ever being advised to get HPV vaccination, perceived barriers of action and perceived self-efficacy. Predictors for commitment to HPV vaccination in the next 6 months were the cost of vaccination, ever being advised to get HPV vaccination, perceived self-efficacy and situational influences. Perceived self-efficacy was significantly influenced by relationship status, past receipt of a recommendation for HPV vaccination and level of knowledge about HPV. CONCLUSION: When formulating vaccination policies, governmental or medical institutions should include these factors to promote vaccination.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; *Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Health Promotion/methods ; Humans ; Papillomavirus Infections/complications/*prevention & control ; *Papillomavirus Vaccines ; Self Efficacy ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Students/*psychology ; Taiwan ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/*prevention & control/virology ; Vaccination/psychology/statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult