The recommended lifetime immunization schedule from the board of vaccination calendar for life in Italy: A continuing example of impact on public health policies.

The Vaccination Calendar for Life is an alliance of scientific and professional societies of public health physicians, paediatricians and general practitioners in Italy which provides a periodical update on the ideal, scientifically driven vaccination calendar throughout lifetime. Since 2012, the Lifetime Immunization Schedule has represented a benchmark for Regional and National Authorities to set up the updated list of vaccines provided actively and free of charge to infants, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly by inclusion in the Triennial National Vaccination Plan (TNVP), and in the Essential Levels of Care (LEA). The impact of the different editions of the Lifetime Immunization Schedule on the TNVP was deep, representing the inspiring source for the present vaccination policy. The 2019 edition called for more attention to pregnant women immunization; risk groups vaccination; uniform high coverage with the MMRV vaccine; extension of Meningococcal B vaccination also at adolescent age; use of quadrivalent conjugate meningococcal vaccine also at 1 year of life; progressive decrease of the age of free-of-charge offer of influenza to ≥ 60 and then to ≥ 50 year-old population; implementation of flu immunization ages 6 months-6 years; HPV vaccination also offered to 25-year old women at the time of the first screening (gender neutral immunization already offered); sequential PCV13-PPV23 pneumococcal vaccination in 65 year-old subjects; increased coverage with rotavirus vaccine in infants and zoster vaccine in the elderly.

Impact assessment of an educational course on vaccinations in a population of medical students.

BACKGROUND: The inadequate knowledge about vaccinations of healthcare workers, including medical doctors, has certainly contributed to the spread of the vaccine hesitancy. Therefore, it is essential to improve the level of knowledge of future doctors. The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of a course about vaccinations on the knowledge of medical students. METHODS: Medical students were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire before and after a seminar on vaccination that they willingly attended. The two questionnaires contained the same 10 questions about vaccines. Only the students who had attended the lecture were allowed to fulfil the post-lecture questionnaires through the learning management system (LMS) called "Moodle". A descriptive statistical analysis of the data collected through the comparative evaluation of the answers before and after the seminar was performed. Mann-Whitney test for two independent samples was used to compare medians score before and after the interventions. RESULTS: A total of 100 medical students filled the pre-lecture questionnaire and 81 of them completed the post-lecture questionnaire. Knowledge of the students on the indication of the MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella) vaccine strongly improved after the seminar. Moreover, the number of students who would recommend vaccination for pertussis and influenza during pregnancy increased significantly by 37% and 19% respectively after the seminar and those aware of the need for Herpes Zoster vaccination over the age of 65 increased by 22%. DISCUSSION: For future doctors, a thorough knowledge about vaccinations is increasingly required in order to deal with vaccine hesitancy. Extracurricular seminars about vaccines, provided in the second half of the course of study, can have a highly positive impact.

Impact assessment of an education course on vaccinations in a population of pregnant women: a pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: Although the benefits of vaccinations have been extensively demonstrated, vaccination coverage remains unsatisfactory as result of many people's poor knowledge and negative perception of vaccination.We evaluated the impact of an education course on vaccinations in a population of pregnant women. METHODS: A total of 214 pregnant women were invited to participate in this project, which was undertaken at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Careggi University Hospital in Florence (Italy). Anonymous questionnaires were administered to women before and after the intervention.A descriptive and statistical analysis was carried out in order to compare the responses obtained before and after the intervention. RESULTS: Adherence to the initiative was good (98%): initially, the respondents were not hostile to vaccinations, though many (43%) were poorly or insufficiently informed. The educational intervention had a positive impact. After the intervention, the number of women who rated their level of knowledge of vaccinations as poor or insufficient had decreased by 30% and the number of "hesitant" respondents had decreased with respect to all aspects of the study, especially the decision to be vaccinated during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Hesitancy stems from a lack of accurate information. Healthcare professionals need to improve their communication skills. Appropriate education during pregnancy, when women are more receptive, may have a highly positive impact. These observations need to be considered in the planning of courses to prepare pregnant women for delivery also in other maternal-foetal centres in Italy.