A population-based register study of vaccine coverage among children in Greenland

Coverage rates of the children vaccination programme in Greenland

In order to estimate the current coverage rate among all children in Greenland, we conducted an observational cross-sectional study identifying all children in Greenland eligible for a vaccination between 1 March 2018 and 16 June 2019. we found an overall national coverage of 85.4%. The national coverage for the vaccinations given at birth was 97.1%, dropping to 94.3%, 87.7% and 83.6% at ages 3, 5 and 12 months. Among children eligible for the Measles, Mumps and Rubella-vaccinations, the national coverage was 76.9% for children aged 15 months and 64.1% for children aged 4 years, but dropping to 40.9% in the districts. At preschool, the national coverage was 79.9%. Among the 12-year-old, the national coverages of the two vaccinations against Human Papilloma Virus were 88.4% and 71.6%, respectively, and for the three Hepatitis B-vaccinations 89.8%, 84.1% and 69.6%. A subgroup-analysis and test of an SMS-reminder system in Nuuk improved the coverage from 57.8% to 75.5% locally. Overall, we found a high national coverage rate among the newborn in Greenland. The national coverage rates of the remaining vaccinations were below the WHO-recommendations, however with great regional differences.Abbreviations: CVP: Children Vaccination Programme; BCG: Bacille Calmette-Guerin; EMR: Electronic medical Record system; DTPHiB: Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Haemophilus influenza B; HBV: Hepatitis B; HPV: Human Papilloma Virus; MMR: Measles, Mumps, Rubella; SMS: Short Text Message; WHO: World Health Organization; GVAP: Global Vaccine Action Plan; EVAP: The WHO European Vaccine Action Plan.

Immunisation rates among children in Nuuk

The children immunisation programme in Greenland correlates to the one in Denmark with the addition of the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-vaccine and the immunisation against Hepatitis B (HBV). The immunisation rate among children in Greenland has been and is currently unknown and this study aims to estimate the immunisation rates among children in Nuuk from 1 July 2015 until 30 June 2016. We did an observational cross-sectional study based on a statistical extraction identifying all children in Nuuk eligible for an immunization in the children immunisation programme from 1 July 2015 until 30 June 2016 and a review of their medical records. We found acceptable coverage rates among children younger than 12 months, but coverage rates lower than recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) among older children. Among children between 15 months and 4 years the coverage dropped as low as 33.9 %. Increased awareness of child immunisation rates is suggested including continuously monitoring and adjusting of the organisation of the immunisation programme.

ABBREVIATIONS

Bacille Calmette-Guerin immunisation (BCG); Chief Medical Officer (CMO); Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Haemophilus influenza B, Pneumococcal (DTP); Electronic medical report (EMR); Hepatitis B (HBV); Human Papilloma Virus (HPV); Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR); World Health Organization (WHO).

Non-specific effects of BCG vaccination on morbidity among children in Greenland: a population-based cohort study

Background

The potential non-specific effects of BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) vaccination, with reported reduction of infectious disease morbidity among vaccinated children, in addition to the protective effect against tuberculosis (TB), are highly debated. In Greenland, BCG vaccination was introduced in 1955, but temporarily discontinued from 1991 to 1996 due to nationwide policy changes. Using the transient vaccination stop, we aimed to investigate possible non-specific effects of BCG vaccination by measuring nation-wide hospitalization rates due to infectious diseases other than TB among vaccinated and unvaccinated children.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study including all children born in Greenland aged 3 months to 3 years from 1989 to 2004. A personal identification number assigned at birth allowed for follow-up through national registers. Information on hospitalization due to infectious diseases was obtained from the Greenlandic inpatient register using ICD-8 and ICD-10 codes. Participants with notified TB were censored. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) were estimated using Poisson regression.

Results

Overall, 19 363 children, hereof 66% BCG-vaccinated, were followed for 44 065 person-years and had 2069 hospitalizations due to infectious diseases. IRRs of hospitalization in BCG-vaccinated as compared with BCG-unvaccinated children were 1.07 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.96-1.20] for infectious diseases overall, and specifically 1.10 (95% CI 0.98-1.24) for respiratory tract infections. Among BCG-vaccinated children aged 3 to 11 months, the IRR of hospitalization due to infectious diseases was 1.00 (95% CI 0.84-1.19) as compared with BCG-unvaccinated children.

Conclusion

Our results do not support the hypothesis that neonatal BCG vaccination reduces morbidity in children caused by infectious diseases other than TB.

Addressing issues of vaccination literacy and psychological empowerment in the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination decision-making: a qualitative study

Background

Whether or not to vaccinate one’s child is one of the first health-related decisions parents have to make after their child’s birth. For the past 20 years, the share of parents choosing not to immunize their children has increased in many countries, for various reasons. Among these, rumors affirming that vaccinations contain dangerous chemicals or might trigger severe chronic diseases have negatively affected parental attitudes towards pediatric immunizations, particularly the vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), raising a number of public health concerns. The primary aim of this qualitative study is to understand what drives parents’ decision, giving special attention to vaccination literacy and psychological empowerment in such a context.

Methods

Twenty individual semi-structured interviews were conducted in the Canton of Ticino (Switzerland) between January and June 2014. Participants were either mothers or fathers of children less than 1 year old living in Switzerland. An inductive thematic analysis was performed to identify the main themes with regard to vaccination literacy and psychological empowerment in the MMR vaccination decision-making.

Results

Parents’ reports yielded four main themes: (a) the paradox of the free choice, referring to the misinterpretation of current vaccination policies; (b) giving up the power, pointing at the outcomes of a low perceived competence; (c) a far-reaching decision, reflecting the importance attributed to the MMR choice and the different levels of impact the decision can have; (d) the demand for shared-decision making, referring to the parental needs in relation to the child’s healthcare provider.

Conclusion

Understanding what drives parents’ management of their children’s immunization schedule in terms of vaccination literacy and psychological empowerment can help health professionals to communicate more effectively with parents in order to facilitate an informed decision, and stakeholders to design tailored health education programs and materials. This can ultimately help increase the coverage of the MMR vaccination.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2200-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Desigualdades sociais e cobertura vacinal na cidade de Salvador, Bahia

Objetivo: Estimar as coberturas vacinais alcançadas em crianças nascidas na cidade de Salvador, analisando essas coberturas por condições socioeconômicas. Método: Foi realizado um inquérito domiciliar sobre cobertura vacinal, na cidade de Salvador, capital do Estado da Bahia, Nordeste do Brasil, sendo incluídas crianças nascidas em 2005, que no momento do estudo apresentavam 18 a 36 meses de idade. Foi realizada amostragem por conglomerados em múltiplas etapas. Os setores censitários foram estratificados utilizando-se dados do censo demográfico realizado em 2000. Foram coletados dados socioeconômicos dos domicílios. O tamanho da amostra foi definido a partir de metodologia específica para inquéritos de cobertura vacinal. O questionário foi aplicado tomando por base as informações constantes na caderneta de vacinação. Foi estimada a cobertura vacinal nos diversos estratos considerando o plano complexo de amostragem, ponderando as observações segundo a fração amostral, as perdas e o efeito do desenho. Resultados: Observou-se desigualdade socioeconômica nos diversos estratos, com um gradiente diretamente proporcional entre cobertura vacinal e nível socioeconômico. As diferenças mostram-se estatisticamente significantes entre os estratos D e E comparado ao estrato A. Em relação ao esquema completo, as crianças residentes nos estratos D e E apresentam cobertura significantemente menor que aquelas residentes no estrato B. Para vacinas não incluídas no esquema básico, as diferenças são muito acentuadas, sendo inferior a 3% nos estratos D e E. Conclusões: A cobertura vacinal pelo esquema completo ao final dos 18 meses de idade, com doses válidas, foi insatisfatória e foram observadas heterogeneidades entre os estratos socioeconômicos com pior cobertura nos grupos mais pobres.

Effectiveness of the targeted hepatitis B vaccination program in Greenland

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination program in Greenland, which targets children born to mothers who are positive for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), we determined vaccination coverage, levels of postvaccination antibodies, and frequency of breakthrough infections in at-risk children.

METHODS

We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study with data from nationwide registries. We identified all children born to HBsAg-positive mothers from 1992 to 2007 and collected data on their HBV vaccination status. In 2008 to 2010, we tested the children for HBV core antibody, HBsAg, and anti-HBsAg antibody (HBsAb).

RESULTS

Of 4050 pregnant women, 3.2% were HBsAg positive. Of 207 children born to these women, 20% received no vaccinations, and only 58% received at least 3 vaccinations. At follow-up, HBsAb levels in vaccinated children were much lower than expected, and 8 (6%) of 140 at-risk children had breakthrough infections, with 4 chronically infected (persistently HBsAg positive).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevention program targeting children at risk for HBV in Greenland is ineffective. HBV vaccination should be included in the universal childhood vaccination program, and postvaccination HBsAb levels should be monitored.

Child health in Greenland

AIM

To review the knowledge on child health and child health problems in Greenland.

METHOD

The review was based on theses, national statistics, national and international reports, and a search in Pub Med, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and WHOLIB databases from 1985 to 2005. The resulting articles were sorted by topic, type, quality of study, and relevance for child health today, providing 47 articles.

RESULTS

Children in Greenland have become taller and have improved their general health. The morbidity found in Greenlandic children is similar to that found elsewhere even though the magnitude of problems might differ. The child mortality is relatively high and unevenly distributed. The acute disease pattern is dominated by infections, mostly airway infections. Otitis and its sequelae is a problem. An increase in chronic conditions such as atopy, asthma, obesity, and disabilities has taken place. Overweight and obesity have tripled in 20 years and are a health threat as well as constituting negative health behaviour. Social ill health, socioeconomic inequity, and sociocultural changes also influence health but their consequences are not well investigated in children.

CONCLUSIONS

A relatively high child mortality but the same morbidity pattern as in other Western societies was found. Negative health behaviour is frequent in schoolchildren. The influence of rapid cultural changes, and familial and societal factors related to social ill health, together with socioeconomic inequity, are of major importance to the health of children in Greenland. More accurate data on child health are necessary in the future to secure better prioritization. It is suggested to construct a set of reliable indicators of child health in Greenland to monitor the health of children on a national and regional basis.

A population-based registry study of infant mortality in the Arctic: Greenland and Denmark, 1973-1997

OBJECTIVES

We sought to determine precise estimates of infant mortality rates and to describe overall trends in infant mortality in Greenland and Denmark from 1973 to 1997.

METHODS

We analyzed data from population-based registries of all live-born infants in Greenland and Denmark to calculate infant mortality rates from 1973 to 1997.

RESULTS

Between the periods of 1973-1977 and 1993-1997, neonatal mortality rates in Greenland declined from 20.9 per 1000 live-born infants to 15.7, and postneonatal mortality rates declined from 20.9 per 1000 to 5.9. Infant mortality rates were significantly higher in Greenland than in Denmark, and the excess mortality was uniformly distributed over all birthweight percentiles. In Greenland, the risk of infant death was significantly lower if the mother was born outside Greenland.

CONCLUSIONS

Postneonatal mortality rates in Greenland have decreased significantly during the past 25 years, but little progress has been made in decreasing neonatal mortality rates. Disparities exist among children with different maternal origins.