Vaccination among disadvantaged, isolated, and difficult-to-reach communities in the WHO European Region
Citation: Ekezie W, Awwad S, Krauchenberg A, et al. Access to vaccination among disadvantaged, isolated and difficult-to-reach communities in the WHO European region: A systematic review. Vaccines. 2022;10(7):1038.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: European Union’s Health Programme (2014–2020).
What is this? In this systematic review, the authors searched for studies of the critical factors associated with vaccination among disadvantaged and difficult-to-reach groups in 53 WHO European Region countries. They searched in March 2022 for articles published in English between 2015 and 2019. The authors included 104 studies conducted in 19 WHO European Region countries on various vaccines for 22 infectious diseases. This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42020192530.
What was found: Vaccination coverage among the studied populations was lower than that of the general population and mostly below the standard herd immunity thresholds, with significant variation between locations. In particular, vaccines that required multiple doses had very low uptake due to missed follow-up appointments. Factors that influenced vaccine uptake varied between populations and included health service accessibility, language and vaccine literacy, disease severity, risk perception, and vaccination benefits.
Implications: The authors of the review stated that targeted interventions are necessary to improve vaccination uptake among disadvantaged groups. Governments should prioritise the reduction of gaps in vaccination coverage in non- and under-vaccinated populations by adapting interventions to each population’s unique needs. Strategies need to address the factors that influence vaccine uptake, such as accessibility, language and vaccine literacy, disease severity, risk perception, and vaccination benefits.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of place of residence, race, ethnicity, culture, language, gender, sex, education, and socioeconomic status.
This summary was prepared by Riwa Deghaim, checked by Grace Meng, and finalized by William Summerskill.