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Outcome of referrals to a district immunisation advisory clinic
Insights
True contraindications to childhood immunisation are rare. An advisory clinic safely vaccinated children with potential concerns, improving parental confidence and vaccination rates.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Immunology
Background:
- Concerns regarding vaccine safety and contraindications lead to missed immunisations.
- Parental hesitancy requires informed professional guidance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the frequency of true contraindications for childhood immunisations.
- To evaluate the safety of vaccinating children with potential contraindications.
- To determine the impact of professional counselling on parental vaccine decisions.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of medical records and postal questionnaires.
- Analysis of 30 months of data from a district immunisation advisory clinic.
- Inclusion of 358 referred children, with 248 attending consultation.
Main Results:
- Only 6% of attending children had a true contraindication.
- 86% of children without contraindications were safely vaccinated.
- Vaccination rates were significantly lower in non-attendees (36%) compared to clinic attendees.
Conclusions:
- True contraindications to childhood vaccines are uncommon.
- Immunisation advisory clinics effectively and safely vaccinate children with complex histories.
- Professional counselling enhances parental confidence and improves immunisation uptake.
Abstract:
We have studied referrals to and outcomes of consultation at a district immunisation advisory clinic, aiming to examine and confirm the rarity of true contraindications, the safety of immunising children with possible contraindications, and the influence on parents of counselling by well informed professionals. We examined medical records and postal questionnaires to parents, representing 30 months' work. Three hundred and fifty-eight children were referred to the clinic, 248 of whom were seen and 110 (31%) did not attend. Fourteen children who attended (6%) had a true contraindication to the vaccine(s) in question and 202 of the remaining 234 (86%) proceeded to vaccination with no adverse effect. Forty of the 110 (36%) who were referred but did not attend were vaccinated, and no adverse effects were reported, but the immunisation rate of this group was significantly lower than that seen in the clinic (chi 2 test, p < 0.001). True contraindications to childhood immunisation were rare, and children with difficult problems were safely vaccinated. The immunisation advisory clinic is effective in counselling parents who are uncertain about childhood immunisation.