Current status of pertussis vaccination during pregnancy and influencing factors in Korea

Objective: to investigate pertussis vaccination rates during pregnancy and the routine recommendation rates by maternity healthcare professionals (HCPs), including influencing factors, in Korea. Materials and methods: Two different questionnaires were developed and conducted anonymously for pregnant or postpartum women and maternity HCPs in 30 multi-centers. Maternal pertussis vaccination rates and maternity HCPs’ recommendation rates were analyzed. Independent influencing factors were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis, respectively. Results: The rate of pertussis vaccination during pregnancy among 466 women was 67%. Among 164 multiparous women, 35.5% received pertussis vaccinations during every pregnancy. However, 27.9% among all pregnant women did not receive information about pertussis and vaccination. The independent influencing factors for maternal pertussis vaccination, given as the tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap), were “getting informed” (OR 18.597, 95% CI 11.206–30.861), “informed by OBGYN doctors” (OR 4.426, 95% CI 2.144–9.267), and “metropolitan residence” (OR 3.048, 95% CI 1.419–6.548). Among a total of 373 maternity HCPs, 210 (56.3%) routinely recommended pertussis vaccination, but 21.7% of the total maternity HCP participants did not know the maternal Tdap guideline. The independent factors affecting routine recommendation were the awareness of guideline (OR 9.771, 95% CI 5.227–18.265, p < 0.001) and personal pertussis vaccination within 10 years (OR 3.108, 95% CI 2.377–10.329, p < 0.001). The barriers for routine recommendation were the lack of informational materials (29%), time (25%), and knowledge (23%). Conclusion: To increase pertussis vaccination coverage in pregnant women, more education for maternity HCPs, increase the personal pertussis vaccination rates of HCPs, and informational materials, are needed.