Dataset Information

Childhood Vaccine Acceptance and Refusal among Warao Amerindian Caregivers in Venezuela; A Qualitative Approach.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Acceptance of childhood vaccination varies between societies, affecting worldwide vaccination coverage. Low coverage rates are common in indigenous populations where parents often choose not to vaccinate their children. We aimed to gain insight into reasons for vaccine acceptance or rejection among Warao Amerindians in Venezuela.

Methods

Based on records of vaccine acceptance or refusal, in-depth interviews with 20 vaccine-accepting and 11 vaccine-declining caregivers were performed. Parents' attitudes were explored using a qualitative approach.

Results

Although Warao caregivers were generally in favor of vaccination, fear of side effects and the idea that young and sick children are too vulnerable to be vaccinated negatively affected vaccine acceptance. The importance assigned to side effects was related to the perception that these resembled symptoms/diseases of another origin and could thus harm the child. Religious beliefs or traditional healers did not influence the decision-making process.

Conclusions

Parental vaccine acceptance requires educational programs on the preventive nature of vaccines in relation to local beliefs about health and disease. Attention needs to be directed at population-specific concerns, including explanation on the nature of and therapeutic options for side effects.

SUBMITTER: Burghouts J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5249092 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The latter group were children with a TST = 10 mm or a positive QFT-GIT result who presented all of: persistent fever >38M-BM-0C objectively recorded daily for at least two weeks, persistent cough for more than three weeks, weight loss (>5% reduction in weight compared with the highest weight recorded in last three months) or failure to thrive (documented crossing of percentile lines in the preceding three months), persistent lethargy or decrease in playfulness/activity reported by the parent and absence of clinical response on broad-spectrum antibiotics. Standard antero-posterior and lateral chest radiographs (CXRs) were taken from all children. Two independent experts, blinded to all clinical information, evaluated the CXRs and documented their findings on a standard report form. Where the two objective experts disagreed, a third expert was consulted and final consensus was achieved. A diagnosis of TB was only made when the CXR was consistent with TB9 and the child showed a positive clinical response to anti-TB treatment. Children were followed up clinically, radiologically and, in case of a negative TST at inclusion, by means of TST at six and 12 months after inclusion. LTBI was defined as a TST = 10mm and a positive QFT-GIT with a negative culture result on inclusion in the absence of radiological and clinical evidence of TB disease on inclusion as well as on t=6 and t=12 months. HC were children with a TST = 0 mm at inclusion and at t=6 and t=12 months. The HC had a negative QFT-GIT and a negative culture result at inclusion without radiological or clinical evidence of TB disease on inclusion nor on t=6 and t=12 months. TB patients were sampled before initiation of anti-TB treatment. Of three of the nine TB patients, a follow-up sample was taken when the patient was in anti-TB treatment for five months. All children were HIV-negative. 27 samples in total where analyzed, active TB infection (TB, n=9), Latent TB infection (LTBI, n=9) and healthy controls (HC, n=9) . Gene expression values were log2-transformed and differentially expressed genes were identified based on log2 fold changes (M-values). P values were calculated with a Bayes-regularized one-way ANOVA. Random Forest recursive feature elimination was used to find a signature geneset capable of discrimination active TB from latent TB and from non-infected individuals.