An Intervention Study for Improve Information and Attitudes Family Health Nurses in a Province About Immunization and Vaccine Hesitancy

Objective: In our study, it was aimed to provide information training on immunization services, vaccine hesitancy and motivational interview technique to family health staff working in Edirne. Our research is a pre -post type intervention study. Material and Methods: The sample was not selected in the study and 90% of the population was reached (n= 110). In the study, the partici-pants were trained on the issues related to vaccination hesitancy, and the vaccination status of themselves and their relatives after the train-ing, their vaccination hesitancy and change in the unit where they work, their experience of vaccination hesitancy and their knowledge about motivational interviewing, and the change in their readiness in the man-agement of vaccination hesitations cases were evaluated.Results: Of the participants, 92% stated that they had vaccinated in the adult age, 96% of those with children and 70% of those who had elderly relatives, also vaccinated them. Although the participants did not increase their participation in the vaccination proposal of themselves and their children with the training, the participation in the proposal of vaccination of their elderly relatives increased. Findings that changed significantly with the applied educational intervention; questioning the immunization status, participating in the seasonal flu vaccination recommendation, participating in the recommendation of the physi-cian and family health nurse to follow the vaccination process together, communication in vaccine refusal, necessity, effectiveness, content and reliability, side effect profile, and feeling ready to explain conspiracy theories increased significantly. Although there was nostatistically signif-icant difference with the training, hesitance from immunity campaigns decreased, while participation in the need for legal regulation increased. Although vaccine hesitancy of the participants did not make a statisti-cally significant difference, it decreased to four out of 12 people after the training (p> 0.05). Of the participants, 45% stated that they encountered vaccine hesitations in the primary health care unit. The most common reason stated in the cases encountered is the side effect profile.Conclusion: With the training intervention, family health workers were informed about vaccination and vaccination hesitations, and it was aimed to increase the capacity of immunization services in primary care. With the training, family health personnel felt significantly more pre-pared to interview vaccine hesitations cases. In-service training should be continued in order to maintain the effectiveness of the intervention and to enable healthcare professionals to manage vaccine refusal or hes-itations more effectively.