[Antitetanus vaccination: noncompliance with doses]

The objectives of this article are to estimate the percentage of people who fail to receive their second and third dose of the antitetanus vaccination, find a relation between public health information and the reason for administering the vaccine with the percentage of non-compliers, and to estimate the percentage of patients who fail to receive their third dose after a six month waiting period. This study was designed with a multiple follow-up. This study took place at a Primary Health care center: E.A.P. Barcelona II in Móstoles, Madrid. Patients included all those people who met the requirements for the vaccination; in this study there were 452 persons.

The percentage of noncompliance with second and third doses was 59.7% (195% (54.4%-65.0%)) There was a higher percentage of noncompliance in the group which received sanitary information, 61.8% while the group which received basic information registered a 54% rate (p > 0.05). The percentage who failed to continue their doses if first administered for a cut was 60.3% against a 59.0% rate for those caught in doctors check-ups, (p > 0.05). The proportion of noncompliance due to the 6 month waiting period was 46.9% (IC95 (37.8-56%)).

This study did not demonstrate that greater sanitary information coupled with a cut contributed to a higher compliance to the convention vaccination pattern. We note the percentage of noncompliance for the third dose following a 12 month pattern was 55.3% against 46.9% in the six month pattern; this leads us to plan a further study. One can include that more than half the people do not comply when they should for the administration of the antitetanus vaccine. We feel it is necessary to improve the means through which people remember they need to take their antitetanus vaccine's doses.