Physicians attitudes towards vaccines that are not included in the national immunization schedule

Objective: Vaccination is an effective method in preventing infectious diseases and protecting child health. Countries have their own immunization programs. There are optional vaccines as well that are not included in the immunization program in Turkey. The purpose of this study is to identify the level of information on optional vaccines, status of recommendation and preference on own children by physicians. Material/Methods: A questionnaire designed for family physicians and pediatricians has been conducted between June 2020 and April 2021, via phone or face-to-face. Data analysis was performed with SPSS 20. Results: A total of 241 physicians consisting of 124 pediatricians and 117 family physicians working in Manisa province and surrounding provinces have participated in our study. 14 responses were discarded due to incomplete answers. Questionnaire response rate was 76%. 51% of physicians said they consider themselves well-informed and this ratio was found to be 67% for pediatricians and 37% for family physicians (p=0.000). 39.2% of the physicians said they inform families when the information on optional vaccines is requested by the family, whereas 40.1% inform families at all cases. According to respondents, the main driver behind the lack of knowledge on optional vaccines was found to be as follows; 51.8% high number of polyclinic patients, 24.1% forgetting to inform on optional vaccines, 7.3% consideration of national vaccine schedule as adequate. 99.1% of the physicians recommended at least one optional vaccine. Rotavirus vaccine was one of the most recommended (96.9%) and the most preferred (85%) optional vaccine for their own children by parent physicians. There were no meaningful difference found between pediatricians and family physicians on recommending optional vaccines. The optional vaccines that are advised to be included in the national immunisation program are as follows: meningococcus B (%84), rotavirüs (%83), meningococcus A (%81), HPV (%62), influenza (%34). Family physicians recommend the HPV vaccine to be included in the program more (70%) compared to pediatricians (53%), (p=0.010). Non-parent physicians were found to be considering themselves lacking information on optional vaccines compared to parent physicians (p=0.000). Conclusions: Rotavirus is the most recommended optional vaccine. Family physicians point out lack of information on the topic compared to the pediatricians. Recommendations: Creating educational and informational guides on optional vaccines is needed to increase the awareness as well as knowledge of optional vaccines.