Vaccination status of people living with HIV/AIDS in outpatient care in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

Antiretroviral therapy has increased the survival of patients with HIV/AIDS, thus necessitating health promotion practice with immunization. Vaccines are critical components for protecting people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The purpose of study was to analyze the vaccination status of PLWHA in outpatient care in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Cross-sectional study performed from June 2014 to June 2015. The screening was done with patients in antiretroviral therapy, 420 patients underwent screening, but only 99 met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected for interviews using forms to characterize sociodemographic, clinical and vaccination situations. Only 14 patients had complete vaccination schedules. The most used vaccines were hepatitis B, influenza vaccine and 23-valent pneumococcal. There was no difference between men and women regarding the proportion of PLWHA with full vaccination schedule or between sex, skin color, marital status, sexual orientation, religion or occupational status. There was no difference between having or not having a complete vaccination schedule and age, years of education, family income or number of hospitalizations. CD4+ T-cells count of patients with incomplete immunization was lower than patients with complete immunization. Health education strategies can be done individually or in groups to explain the importance of vaccination and to remind about doses to be administered. Most patients did not have proper adherence to vaccination schedules, especially due to lack of guidance. Results implied that education in health is important for vaccination adhesion, knowledge of adverse events and continuation of schemes.