The role of local primary healthcare units in increasing immunization uptake among children in vulnerable social groups through vaccination campaigns

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of a tailored health promotion and vaccination campaign conducted by a Local Primary Health Care Unit (LPHCU), in increasing children's immunization uptake of vulnerable social groups. The LPHCU of Ampelokipi, Larissa, Greece conducted an immunization campaign in accordance with the National Vaccination Program within a Roma settlement of Larissa, a population of approximately 4500 people, including 1500 children aged 2 months to 16 years. To ensure community engagement, the settlement's Roma mediator and the associated Medical Social Centre participated in the design and implementation of the campaign, facilitating coherent and precise communications about the campaign goals and methods. The campaign consisted of peer-to-peer communications with parents/guardians, followed by medical examination and vaccination of children, as well as scheduling of appointments for monitoring children's development. The communication messages presented vaccines as a health solution to parents and advised about personal hygiene and healthy diet habits. House-to-house health promotion visits were conducted to all houses of the settlement. From April 2019 to March 2020, a total of 704 vaccines were administered to 381 Roma children, conforming to the National Vaccination Programme of Greece. Our study demonstrated that LPHCU's have the potential to enhance confidence between healthcare providers and vulnerable social groups, towards disease prevention and to increase immunization uptake. Vaccination campaigns should be organized systematically at central country level, as part of continuing efforts of health promotion programs. Local health care providers can play a significant role in national campaigns for increasing vaccination coverage among vulnerable groups.