Enhancing Immunization Uptake for Influenza and Pertussis in Thai Pregnant Women through Educational Sessions

Abstract

Objective: To describe influenza and pertussis vaccine uptake among pregnant women before and after receiving an educational session. Materials and Methods: An interventional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital and a specialized obstetric hospital in Thailand. In the first phase, the medical records of the non-intervention pregnant women received antenatal care (ANC) at the study sites were reviewed. In the second phase, the pregnant women completed a questionnaire about their knowledge and factors for vaccine acceptance then enrolled into the intervention, received an educational session. The vaccine uptake between phases were compared using chi-square test. Potential factors of vaccine acceptance were examined using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Between May 2019 and July 2020, 785 pregnant women were enrolled with 375 in the non-intervention group and 410 in the intervention group. The median age of the pregnant women was 30 years (IQR of 26 to 34). Influenza vaccine uptake among the non-intervention group was 55.5% compared to 65.6% in the intervention group (p=0.004). The factor for influenza vaccine acceptance was the total number of visits at the ANC clinic at ten times or more (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.84, p=0.03). Pertussis vaccine uptake was 52.8% in the non-intervention group compared to 67.0% in the intervention group (p=0.001). The factor for pertussis vaccine acceptance was receiving ANC at the tertiary care hospital (aOR 6.73, 95% CI 4.42 to 10.27). The most common reasons for not getting the vaccine were the concern of vaccine safety with 25.6% for influenza vaccine and 26.3% for pertussis vaccine. Conclusion: The educational session increased the vaccine uptake for influenza and pertussis in Thai pregnant women. Keywords: Immunization; Influenza; Pertussis; Pregnancy; Education