[The immunization practices of nursing staff in local community health centers]

Nurses have an important role in keeping the youth of Quebec vaccinated. Little, however, is known about nurses' immunization practices. The purpose of this research is to identify the immunization practices of nursing staff in local community health centres who vaccinate children aged 0 to 5 years and to outline personal outcomes and barriers to performing these practices.

A Delphi consultation project was conducted with immunization experts in Quebec. The consultation included 4 phases during which participants expressed their opinions on concepts through a series of questionnaires. The research team created a consolidated common response at each stage in order to produce a final consensus.

Eighteen specialists participated in at least 1 of the consultation phases. The consultation allowed for the identification of 35 ideal immunization practices which were grouped into 11 higher-order categories. Eleven expected outcomes were also identified as well as 51 barriers to ideal immunization practices which in turn were grouped into 7 higher-order categories.

According to experts, immunization practices are varied and include technical acts as well as relational, organizational, and continuing education activities. These practices are expected to generate outcomes for professionals and their clientele. However, a number of barriers to achieving ideal vaccination practices are also observed. The picture of immunization practices by nurses in local community health centres and their perception of outcomes and barriers will be studied during the next stages of the project. This process will lead to developing intervention strategies with vaccinators.