Impact assessment of an education course on vaccinations in a population of pregnant women: a pilot study

INTRODUCTION: Although the benefits of vaccinations have been extensively demonstrated, vaccination coverage remains unsatisfactory as result of many people’s poor knowledge and negative perception of vaccination. We evaluated the impact of an education course on vaccinations in a population of pregnant women. METHODS: A total of 214 pregnant women were invited to participate in this project, which was undertaken at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of Careggi University Hospital in Florence (Italy). Anonymous questionnaires were administered to women before and after the intervention. A descriptive and statistical analysis was carried out in order to compare the responses obtained before and after the intervention. RESULTS: Adherence to the initiative was good (98%): initially, the respondents were not hostile to vaccinations, though many (43%) were poorly or insufficiently informed. The educational intervention had a positive impact. After the intervention, the number of women who rated their level of knowledge of vaccinations as poor or insufficient had decreased by 30% and the number of “hesitant” respondents had decreased with respect to all aspects of the study, especially the decision to be vaccinated during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Hesitancy stems from a lack of accurate information. Healthcare professionals need to improve their communication skills. Appropriate education during pregnancy, when women are more receptive, may have a highly positive impact. These observations need to be considered in the planning of courses to prepare pregnant women for delivery also in other maternal-foetal centres in Italy.