Vaccination coverage, knowledge and attitudes among students in Papua New Guinea – cross sectional study

Introduction:
Vaccinations have a crucial role in the prevention of infectious diseases. Medical students are at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases and transmitting them to vulnerable patients. The success of any vaccination project is closely related to the knowledge and awareness of healthcare workers. The main objective of this study was to assess the vaccination status, knowledge, and attitudes towards vaccination among students being trained at Divine Word University on the Madang campus, Papua New Guinea.

Material and methods:
A cross-sectional study using a semi-structured questionnaire.

Results:
Out of 89 participants, there were 67 medical students and 22 non-health sciences students. Only one-third of students provided the book with vaccination records. The self-reported vaccination coverage was low. For measles, it was 42% for health sciences and 20% for non-health sciences students; for tetanus and polio, it was approximately 20% for all students. Only 9% of medical students received vaccination against hepatitis B, while no non-health sciences students were vaccinated. Medical students knew five diseases, other health sciences students knew 4.1 diseases, and non-medical students knew 3.6 diseases that are preventable by vaccination. The knowledge of the preventive role of vaccinations was shallow.

Conclusions:
The study disclosed not only poor vaccination records but also low awareness and knowledge about vaccinations among students. This poses a risk for future healthcare workers and patients and calls for the improvement of education. Universal precautions, prevention of occupational infections, and optimizing students’ vaccination should be taught in the early years at university.