Antimeningococcal and antipneumococcal vaccination determinants: a European systematic literature review

ESCULAPIO is a multicenter project, funded by the Italian Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, aimed at implementing communication strategies to improve vaccination knowledge and attitudes among different target populations.

The objective of the Sicilian research unit was, in the first phase, to identify, through systematic literature revision, which vaccination determinants play a role in the uptake of recommended vaccines included in the Italian Vaccination Plan.

A systematic literature review was carried out on studies describing the determinants underlying pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccination uptake. The analysis was limited to papers published in English from 2000 to date.

A total of 188 (meningococcal) and 731 (pneumococcal) papers were found. After selection by publication data, country (Europe), article type (original article), target population (healthy subjects), 7 (meningococcal) and 4 ( pneumococcal) manuscripts were finally included in the analysis. For meningococcal vaccination a better socioeconomic status is related to vaccination acceptance, whereas distance from immunization service is a negative determinant. For pneumococcal vaccination the determinants related to vaccination uptake are older parental age and a strong vaccine recommendation. Conversely, when the vaccine needs to be paid for, a refusal is more likely.

Our results show that payment for vaccination is a major barrier and communication about meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccination should be targeted towards specific population groups, especially through the counseling activities by health professionals.