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- Title
THE VAXED PROJECT: An Assessment of Immunization Education in Canadian Health Professional Programs.
- Authors
Pelly, Lorine P.; Pierrynowski MacDougall, Donna M.; Halperin, Beth A.; Strang, Robert A.; Bowles, Susan K.; Baxendale, Darlene M.; McNeil, Shelly A.
- Abstract
Background: Knowledge & attitudes of healthcare providers (HCP) have significant impact on frequency with which vaccines are offered & accepted but many HCP are ill equipped to make informed recommendations about vaccine merits & risks. We performed an assessment of the educational needs of trainees regarding immunization and used the information thus ascertained to develop multi-faceted, evaluable, educational tools which can be integrated into formal education curricula. Methods: (i) A questionnaire was sent to all Canadian nursing, medical & pharmacy schools to assess immunization-related curriculum content (ii) A 77-item web-based, validated questionnaire was emailed to finalyear students in medicine, nursing, & pharmacy at two universities in Nova Scotia, Canada to assess knowledge, attitudes, & behaviors reflecting current immunization curriculum. Results: The curriculum review yielded responses from 18%, 48%, & 56% of medical, nursing, & pharmacy schools, respectively. Time spent on immunization content varied substantially between & within disciplines from <1 to >50 hrs. Most schools reported some content regarding vaccine preventable diseases, immunization practice & clinical skills but there was considerable variability and fewer schools had learning objectives or formal evaluation in these areas. 74% of respondents didn't feel comfortable discussing vaccine side effects with parents/patients & only 21% felt they received adequate teaching regarding immunization during training. Conclusions: Important gaps were identified in the knowledge of graduating nursing, medical, & pharmacy trainees regarding vaccine indications/contraindications, adverse events & safety. The national curriculum review revealed wide variability in immunization curriculum content & evaluation. There is clearly a need for educators to assess current curricula and adapt existing educational resources such as the Immunization Competencies for Health Professionals in Canada.
- Subjects
MEDICAL students; STUDY &; teaching of medicine; IMMUNOTHERAPY; MEDICAL care; EDUCATIONAL evaluation
- Publication
BMC Medical Education, 2010, Vol 10, p86
- ISSN
1472-6920
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1186/1472-6920-10-86