Seminar on immunisation problems in Gabrovo
04.07.2022
A seminar on “Doctor-patient communication on vaccination” was held in the town of Gabrovo, in the building of Diagnostic Consultative Centre 1. The event was attended by specialists in pre-hospital care, employees of Gabrovo Regional Health Inspectorate, students and lecturers from medical universities. The event is part of the initiative of Astra Forum Foundation within the national program aimed to increase immunization coverage in the country.
The event was opened by Dr. Momchil Baev, Chairman of the Astra Forum Foundation.
In the first part of the meeting Assoc. Prof. Angel Kunchev, Chief State Health Inspector, focused on the topic of immunization as the main tool to fight communicable diseases.
Dr. Kunchev addressed the problem with the decline in vaccination coverage in the global population in recent years and especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of vaccination coverage, Bulgaria is not an exception. Dr. Kunchev presented statistics on vaccines included in the immunization calendar with data for 2021 showing less than 90% immunization coverage. Missed or delayed vaccinations need to be followed up, otherwise this could be the cause of secondary health crises amid COVID-19, e.g. measles outbreaks.
This is also linked to the Council of Europe’s recommendation to member states to strengthen cooperation in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. This includes strengthening the training of all health professionals in these diseases and methods of their prevention, as well as carrying out various communication activities to increase confidence in immunisation, raising awareness of its benefits.
Such efforts are expected to be productive, especially with regard to the so-called recommended vaccines. Their administration to certain population groups is important in order to limit serious diseases.
The discussion also focused on immunisation against COVID-19. Dr. Kunchev made a comparison between the administration of the same vaccine (so-called homologous vaccination) and the administration of different types of vaccines (e.g. RNA and DNA vaccine).
In conclusion, he focused on the refugee crisis and its impact on the health system in Bulgaria. It is important to offer vaccination against COVID-19 to all Ukrainian citizens. With regard to Ukrainian children, it is important that their vaccination status is established as soon as possible, and that action is taken to ensure that mandatory immunizations are administered.
In the second part of the discussion, Kiril Bozgunov, a clinical psychologist, presented to the audience the method of motivational interviewing as a highly useful technique for changing attitudes towards vaccinations among hesitant patients.
The method is centred on achieving a change in the patient’s behaviour through conversation and encouraging personal motivation for change. Key elements are the building of a partnership between doctor and patient, and the opportunity to give support, information, and advice.
The method of motivational interviewing does not replace all other approaches to doctor-patient communication, but complements them and can be used alongside them. This communication technique is particularly suitable for so-called “difficult patients”.
The seminar ended with a practical demonstration of the methods presented before the audience.
