BCG vaccination in England since 2005: a survey of policy and practice

Objective Assess the current BCG vaccination policies and delivery pathways for immunisation in Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England since the 2005 change in recommendations. Design A survey of key informants across PCTs using a standardised, structured questionnaire. Setting 152 PCTs in England. R...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ open 2012-01, Vol.2 (5), p.e001303
Main Authors: Pilger, Daniel, Nguipdop-Djomo, Patrick, Abubakar, Ibrahim, Elliman, David, Rodrigues, Laura C, Watson, John M, Eastman, Vera, Mangtani, Punam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Babies
Epidemiology
Immunization
Infectious Diseases
Primary care
Questionnaires
Tuberculosis
Vaccines
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective Assess the current BCG vaccination policies and delivery pathways for immunisation in Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England since the 2005 change in recommendations. Design A survey of key informants across PCTs using a standardised, structured questionnaire. Setting 152 PCTs in England. Results Complete questionnaires were returned from 127 (84%) PCTs. Sixteen (27%) PCTs reported universal infant vaccination and 111 (73%) had selective infant vaccination. Selective vaccination outside infancy was also reported from 94 (74%) PCTs. PCTs with selective infant policy most frequently vaccinated on postnatal wards (51/102, 50%), whereas PCTs with universal infant vaccination most frequently vaccinated in community clinics (9/13, 69%; p=0.011). To identify and flag up eligible infants in PCTs with targeted infant immunisation, those who mostly vaccinate on postnatal wards depend on midwives and maternity records, whereas those who vaccinate primarily in the community rely more often on various healthcare professionals. Conclusions Targeted infant vaccination has been implemented in most PCTs across the UK. PCTs with selective infant vaccination provide BCG vaccine via a greater variety of healthcare professionals than those with universal infant vaccination policies. Data on vaccine coverage would help evaluate the effectiveness of delivery. Interruptions of delivery noted here emphasise the importance of not just an agreed, standardised, local pathway, but also a named person in charge.
ISSN:2044-6055
2044-6055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001303