Practice and attitudes towards immunization among Lebanese obstetricians and gynecologists

ABSTRACT

We designed our study to evaluate the knowledge and immunization practices among Lebanese obstetricians and gynecologists (OBGYN) for women of different age groups. Anonymous questionnaires were used to assess the knowledge and immunization practices among OBGYN. The survey was conducted at the annual meeting of the Lebanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology on November 13–15, 2014. Data collected included demographics, type of practice, academic background and familiarity with vaccine guidelines. Descriptive statistical methods were used to evaluate the responses. The response rate was 54.8% (114/208). Only 62.3% (71/114) recommend vaccination(s) to pregnant women with only 25.9% of those who recommend the Tdap vaccine for pregnant women giving it during the recommended third trimester. In addition, 52.6% are unaware of the CDC/ACIP immunization schedule for women in general. However, 83.0% (93/112) of respondents are willing to integrate vaccination in their practice. Our study highlights several gaps in the knowledge of Lebanese OBGYN regarding vaccination in addition to practices that are not in full accordance with common guidelines. Measures should be taken to spread proper awareness of the proper guidelines among Lebanese practitioners.

KEYWORDS:

• Education
• Immunization
• Obstetricians
• Prenatal care
• Pregnancy
• Women's health issues

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Lebanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the help and support that allowed the study to be conducted.

Authors' contributions

E. Hobeika was involved in conception and study design. R. Helou and S. Jabak were involved in data acquisition and entry and helped in writing the manuscript. I. Usta did the data analysis and helped in editing the paper. F. El Kak was involved in data acquisition and gave input at the stage of writing the manuscript. A. Nassar was involved in conception and study design, interpretation of data and manuscript writing. All authors have approved of the final version of the article.