Improvement of the knowledge about immuno-preventable diseases of students at Medical School of Universidade Estadual de Londrina

Abstract

Health care professionals are part of a special group concerning infectious diseases, because they are more exposed to infections and represent enhanced risk to themselves and to their patients. Special vaccination schemes have been recommended for this group over the last years. This study was carried out to evaluate vaccine status and knowledge about immuno-preventable diseases among medical students of the State University of Londrina, Brazil, through a questionnaire and an interview about vaccines, answered by 1st, 3rd and 6th grade medical students. Two hundred and nineteen (91.2%) Brazilian students have been included from a total of 240 students officially registered: 75 (34.2%), 78 (35.6%) and 66 (30.1%) were from the 1st, 3rd, and 6th grades, respectively. Most of them or 189 (86.3%) reported to have received the vaccines from infancy; 134 (61.2%) informed to have BCG scars; 172 (78.5%) informed to have received vaccines in the last 5 years. The results were compared regarding the answers to four questions about a list of infectious diseases. Significant differences were observed between students from the first year and those from the last year of the course, concerning right answers to the first and the second questions (p<0.001), with increased number of correct answers observed among students from the last year of the course. The results showed a positive evolution of the vaccine status, the values varying according to vaccine types, and many students of the 6th grade continued to have incomplete vaccination as compared to the recommendations of Brazilian health authorities.