TY - JOUR

T1 - Organisation of preventive child health services

T2 - Key to socio-economic equity in vaccine uptake?

AU - Arat, Arzu

AU - Norredam, Marie

AU - Baum, Ulrike

AU - Jonsson, Stefan Hrafn

AU - Gunlaugsson, Geir

AU - Wallby, Thomas

AU - Hjern, Anders

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Background:Measles has made a comeback in Western Europe, with more cases being reported each year. One factor behind this development is low vaccination coverage in socially disadvantaged segments of the population in many countries. This study investigates whether socioeconomic patterns of uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in the Nordic countries differ by national organisation of preventive health services for children.Methods: MMR vaccine uptake before the age of two years was analysed in register data from Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden, linked to family indicators of socio-economic status (SES) from national registers.Results: Denmark, a country where child vaccinations are administered by general practitioners, presented the lowest overall coverage of MMR at 83%. It also had the greatest difference between subpopulations of low and high SES at 14 percentage points. Finland, Iceland and Sweden, countries where preschool children are vaccinated in 'well-baby' clinics, had a higher overall coverage at 91-94%, with a more equal distribution between SES groups at 1-4 percentage points.Conclusions: This study suggests that the organisation of preventive health care in special units, 'well-baby' clinics, facilitates vaccine uptake among children with low SES in a Nordic welfare context.

AB - Background:Measles has made a comeback in Western Europe, with more cases being reported each year. One factor behind this development is low vaccination coverage in socially disadvantaged segments of the population in many countries. This study investigates whether socioeconomic patterns of uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in the Nordic countries differ by national organisation of preventive health services for children.Methods: MMR vaccine uptake before the age of two years was analysed in register data from Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden, linked to family indicators of socio-economic status (SES) from national registers.Results: Denmark, a country where child vaccinations are administered by general practitioners, presented the lowest overall coverage of MMR at 83%. It also had the greatest difference between subpopulations of low and high SES at 14 percentage points. Finland, Iceland and Sweden, countries where preschool children are vaccinated in 'well-baby' clinics, had a higher overall coverage at 91-94%, with a more equal distribution between SES groups at 1-4 percentage points.Conclusions: This study suggests that the organisation of preventive health care in special units, 'well-baby' clinics, facilitates vaccine uptake among children with low SES in a Nordic welfare context.

KW - Vaccination

KW - MMR

KW - equity

KW - CARE

U2 - 10.1177/1403494819850430

DO - 10.1177/1403494819850430

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31096860

VL - 48

SP - 491

EP - 494

JO - Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Supplement

JF - Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Supplement

SN - 1403-4956

IS - 5

ER -