Evaluation of pregnancy vaccines in pregnant women within the scope of health belief model and vaccine literacy

Immunization services by the World Health Organization (WHO) are considered among the most important and the most cost-effective public health interventions. Inactivated vaccines can be administered to pregnant women when necessary. The CDC recommends that pregnant women receive tetanus and influenza vaccinations. Pregnant women's approach to vaccines affects both themselves and the childhood vaccinations for their unborn children.Our research is a methodologically designed, cross-sectional epidemiological study. 345 patients who applied to the pregnancy outpatient clinic of a tertiary state hospital in Ankara were included in the study. The acceptance rate of pregnant women participating in the study to receive a tetanus vaccine was found to be 64.3%. The rate of acceptance of influenza vaccination was found to be 7.2%. In our research, "Health Belief Model Scale of Tetanus Vaccination in Pregnant Women", "Health Belief Model Scale of Influenza Vaccination in Pregnant Women" and "Vaccine Literacy Scale in Pregnant Women" were found to have sufficient validity and reliability, and Cronbach's alpha values were found to be 0,834, 0,820 and 0,844, respectively. Those who refused the tetanus vaccine during pregnancy were found to have lower awareness of disease susceptibility, severity, benefit of the vaccine, perceived barrier, and action cues. Those who refused the influenza vaccine were found to have lower awareness of disease susceptibility, severity, benefit of the vaccine, and action cues. Comprehensive informing and educating programs about scientific evidences in the vaccines and communication strategies should be provided to healthcare professionals. The active participation of all healthcare professionals in promoting and supporting practices related to vaccine-preventable diseases is considered to be the main strategy for the success of vaccine awareness campaign.