Pediatr Infect Vaccine.  2015 Aug;22(2):69-74. 10.14776/piv.2015.22.2.69.

A Survey of Doctors' Awareness of Simultaneous Vaccination

• Lee H
• Seo HS
• Choi SW
• Kim JS
• Kim EE
• Kim CA
• Son BH
• Lee KW

• KMID: 2465250
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14776/piv.2015.22.2.69

Abstract

PURPOSE
In this study, doctors were surveyed with a questionnaire to determine whether they performed simultaneous vaccination and whether there were any concerns about safety or anxiety. The purpose of this study was to determine any problems associated with doctors readily performing simultaneous vaccination.
METHODS
A trained surveyor visited 241 doctors from every institution registered with the National Immunization Program (NIP) located within six districts (gu) in the City of Busan (Dongnae-gu, Geumjeong-gu, Yeonje-gu, Suyeong-gu, Busanjin-gu, Haeundae-gu); a total of 155 (64%) valid responses were obtained.
RESULTS
Of the 155 respondents, 144 (93%) were already performing simultaneous immunizations and 141 (91%) had a positive view of the practice. However, among the 144 doctors performing simultaneous immunizations, 67 (47%) were not confident about its safety; side effects were seen after simultaneous immunization by 86 doctors, 35 (41%) of whom believed that the frequency or possibility of side effects in simultaneous immunizations was higher than that in sequential immunizations.
CONCLUSIONS
The use of simultaneous immunization is expanding quickly. However, among the doctors performing simultaneous immunizations, a high percentage had concerns over its unproven safety and potential side effects, indicating the need for academic societies or government institutions to present evidence to address such concerns.

Keyword

Immunization; Vaccination; Simultaneous vaccination; Doctors' awareness

MeSH Terms

Anxiety
Busan
Surveys and Questionnaires
Immunization
Immunization Programs
Vaccination*

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Perceptions of the necessity for simultaneous vaccination.

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  Fig. 2. Status of simultaneous vaccination implementation.

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  Fig. 3. Reasons for implementing simultaneous vaccination (multiple responses allowed).

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  Fig. 4. Perceptions of simultaneous vaccination safety.

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  Fig. 5. Risk awareness in simultaneous vaccination.

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