Investigation of Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors Related To Adult Vaccination of People Over 18 Years Old Who Apply To Family Health Centers in Ankara

Introduction: In recent years, the necessity of childhood vaccination as well as adult vaccination has gained importance and practices continue to increase in many countries. Approaches to adult vaccination are needed to be known for the development of immunization services for the adult group and to improve the general health of the community in our country. In this study, it was aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to adult vaccination of people over the age of 18 applying to family health centers in Ankara. Materials and Methods: It is a cross-sectional study conducted with the participation of 1401 people in Ankara city center. A questionnaire was used as the data source. Results: Of the participants, 50.5% stated that vaccination should be done for people over the age of 18, 39.6% stated that they had no knowledge about this issue, and 9.9% stated that it is not necessary to vaccinate people above the age of 18. It was seen that 54.9% of the participants did not have vaccination after 18 years of age and 45.1% of them did. In the last 5 years, the rate of those who haven’t had an influenza vaccination was 75.6%. When looking at the vaccination status last season, it was reported that 88.3% of the participants were not vaccinated and 11.7% were vaccinated. Of the participants, 62.2% said that they did not know to whom the influenza vaccine was proposed, and 37.8% said they knew it. Besides, 28% of the participants stated that people above the age of 65 should be vaccinated and 62.5% of respondents think that they do not have enough knowledge about adult vaccinations while 6.2% think that they have enough knowledge and 31.3% of the participants think that they have some knowledge. Conclusion: In this study, participants did not have enough knowledge about adult vaccination. The age and risk factors of people should be considered. Necessary suggestions should be made to people. Mass media should be used correctly and effectively, and vaccinations should be delivered to the public free. As a result, adult vaccination incidence can be increased

Different perspectives of immunizations during pregnancy

Background/aim: Pregnant women and infants are at risk of severe lower respiratory tract infections induced by influenza or pertussis. The uptake of both vaccines is poor in spite of proven benefits and safety. We aimed to determine the knowledge and attitude of pregnant women and their primary healthcare providers towards immunization during pregnancy. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional and interventional study was conducted in northern Turkey in 2016. It had 3 different groups including 786 pregnant women, 146 primary healthcare staff, and 97 family practitioners. Different questionnaires were filled by each group. The intervention phase of the study consisted of education of the expectant mothers about immunizations during pregnancy. Results: 786 pregnant women aged between 17-44 years were enrolled to the study. Most of the participants had favourable attitude about vaccination, but only 1.1\% had influenza immunization, none had Tdap immunization. None of the participants joining the intervention stage were immunized. The healthcare staff and family physicians had knowledge about vaccinations, but had abstention for administration. Postexposure prophylaxis was also provided by referral centres. Conclusions: Most of the participants either pregnant women or healthcare workers were not vaccinated against pertussis and influenza. Dissemination of maternal immunization must be supported by the team work of healthcare professionals, authorities, universities, professional associations, stake holders, media and patients with current, evidence based knowledge

The prevalence of chest wall deformity in Turkish children

Background/aim: This study aimed to identify children who have chest wall deformity, the prevalence of deformity, and the factors affecting the psychological and physical disorders caused by the deformity. Materials and methods: The study was conducted among 14,108 girls and boys aged 11-14 years, who were 5th-8th grade secondary school students in Ankara Province between October 2014 and March 2015. Results: Of the 14,108 students in our study, the mean age of the children was 12.53 +/- 1.11 years (median 12.54, 11-14 years) and chest wall deformity was detected in 199 (1.41\%) students. Male/female and pectus carinatum/pectus excavatum ratios were 2.16 and 1.59, respectively. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, physical disturbance was found to be statistically significantly higher among children in age group 11 {[}adjusted OR (95\% CI) =16.01 (1.89-135.61), P < 0.0111 and in children who were aware of the deformity {[}adjusted OR (95\% CI) = 0.31 (0.13-0.71), P < 0.006], and psychological disturbance was found to be statistically significantly higher in girls {[}adjusted OR (95\% CI) 15.44 (1.68-141.59), P < 0.0151 and in those with a presence of family history {[}adjusted OR (95\% CI) - 18.66(1.92-181.60), P < 0.0121. Conclusion: In this study conducted in a large population, chest wall deformities were found to be more prevalent in boys (0.96\%) and pectus carinatum was found as the most common deformity type in our country, contrary to the literature