Determinants of vaccination coverage for children and teenagers

The official vaccinal program is updated every year. Nevertheless, the observed vaccination coverage does not correspond to the recommended program.

Our objective was to identify factors influencing vaccinal practice, especially for hepatitis B.

We sent a questionnaire to two medical populations of the French Loire subdivision: 100 randomly chosen general practitioners, and 53 pediatricians and physicians working for public office for mother and childcare.

The updated official recommendations were considered as the reference document for both populations. The study did not reveal any hesitation or lack of information, which could explain the low hepatitis B vaccinal coverage. Eighty-five percent of questioned physicians claimed having changed their practice, thanks to the easy use of Infanrix Hexa®, probably explaining the current improvement of hepatitis B vaccinal coverage rate.