1. Vaccine hesitancy in Portugal: a scoping review
- Author
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Hilario, Ana, Morais, Rita, and da Silva, Pedro
- Subjects
Medicine and Health Sciences ,Social and Behavioral Sciences - Abstract
Background: The purpose of this study was to conduct a scoping review on the perceptions and behaviors of vaccine hesitancy in Portugal between 2000 and 2021. The research question that guided this review was: “What is the evidence from available studies on the perceptions and behaviors of vaccine hesitancy in Portugal between 2000 and 2021? Methods: A scoping review was developed. A database search was conducted in April 2021 on Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus for papers published between 2000 and 2021. An additional search on Google Scholar was made to identify other relevant papers to include in this review. Keywords: vaccine (and) refusal (and) Portugal; vaccination (and) refusal (and) Portugal; and vaccine (and) hesitancy (and) Portugal. Inclusion: all qualitative and quantitative studies on the perceptions and experiences on vaccine hesitancy in the Portuguese population (2000 and 2021). Exclusion criteria: clinical trials, grey literature, articles without primary or secondary data and published in other languages excluding Portuguese or English. Results: Fifteen articles were identified for this review. Most of the studies were quantitative (n=13) and only a few were literature reviews (n=2). The articles were published between 2007 and 2021, although the majority dated from 2020 to 2021 (n=10). The studies focused on vaccine hesitancy related to specific diseases (n=6), vaccine hesitancy related to childhood vaccination (n=6), general vaccine hesitancy (n=3). Conclusions: Although vaccine coverage rates in Portugal are generally high, there is still some work to do regarding childhood vaccination and other specific diseases. Furthermore, the studies included in this review revealed several factors related to adherence/nonadherence to vaccination that are important to ensure for successful vaccination in the Portuguese population, mainly through healthcare professionals.
- Published
- 2022
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