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Background: Although influenza vaccination is recommended during pregnancy as standard of care, limited surveillance data are available for monitoring uptake. Our aim was to evaluate the validity of existing surveillance in Western Australia for measuring antenatal influenza immunisations.Methods: The self-reported vaccination status of 563 women who delivered between April and October 2013 was compared against three passive data collection sources: a state-wide antenatal influenza vaccination database maintained by the Department of Health, a public maternity hospital database, and a private health service database. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated for each system using self-report as the "gold standard."Results: The state-wide antenatal vaccination database detected 45.7 % (95 % CI: 40.1-51.4 %) of influenza vaccinations, the public maternity hospital database detected 66.7 % (95 % CI: 55.1-76.9 %), and the private health service database detected 29.1 % (95 % CI: 20.5-39.4 %). Specificity exceeded 90 % and positive predictive values exceeded 80 % for each system. Sensitivity was lowest for women whose antenatal care was provided by a private obstetrician.Conclusions: Existing resources for surveillance of antenatal influenza vaccinations detect 29-67 % of vaccinations. Considering the importance of influenza immunisation as a public health intervention, particularly in pregnant women, improvements to routine monitoring of influenza vaccination is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Influenza and pertussis vaccines have been recommended in Australia for women during each pregnancy since 2010 and 2015, respectively. Estimating vaccination coverage and identifying factors affecting uptake are important for improving antenatal immunisation services.Methods: A random sample of 800 Western Australian women ≥18 years of age who gave birth between 4th April and 4th October 2015 were selected. Of the 454 (57%) who were contactable by telephone, 424 (93%) completed a survey. Data were weighted by maternal age and area of residence to ensure representativeness. The proportion immunised against influenza and pertussis was the main outcome measure; multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors significantly associated with antenatal vaccination. Results from the 2015 study were compared to similar surveys conducted in 2012-2014.Results: In 2015, 71% (95% CI 66-75) of women received pertussis-containing vaccine and 61% (95% CI 56-66) received influenza vaccine during pregnancy; antenatal influenza vaccine coverage was 18% higher than in 2014 (43%; 95% CI: 34-46). Pertussis and influenza vaccine were co-administered for 68% of the women who received both vaccines. The majority of influenza vaccinations in 2015 were administered during the third trimester of pregnancy, instead of the second trimester, as was observed in prior years. Women whose care provider recommended both antenatal vaccinations had significantly higher odds of being vaccinated against both influenza and pertussis (OR 33.3, 95% CI: 15.15-73.38). Of unvaccinated mothers, 53.6% (95% CI: 45.9-61.3) and 78.3% (95% CI: 70.4-85.3) reported that they would have been vaccinated against influenza and pertussis, respectively, if their antenatal care provider had recommended it.Conclusions: Pertussis vaccination coverage was high in the first year of an antenatal immunisation program in Western Australia. Despite a substantial increase in influenza vaccination uptake between 2014 and 2015, coverage remained below that for pertussis. Our data suggest influenza and pertussis vaccination rates of 83% and 94%, respectively, are achievable if providers were to recommend them to all pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]