Childhood vaccine hesitancy from the point of view of health professionals: a glance at the place of immigrant communities and ethnic minorities in Portugal

Abstract

Given the growing increase of immigrants in Europe, and the necessity of maintenance of group immunity for several infectious and contagious diseases, the vaccination of these communities is seen as a priority. Based on semi-structured interviews with 29 health professionals (19 nurses and 10 doctors), we intend to identify the main barriers to childhood vaccination on the part of different migrant communities and ethnic minorities from the point of view of healthcare professionals in Portugal. The thematic analysis developed following the principles of grounded theory suggests a diversity of reasons underlying vaccine hesitancy in the immigrant communities and ethnic minorities analyzed and thereby demonstrates the need to develop informed intervention strategies adapted to the particularities of each group regarding the point of view of healthcare professionals.