NL
GGD Gelderland-Zuid, Radboudumc and Maastricht University conducted research on personal experiences of unvaccinated orthodox protestant women with rubella (rubella). Rubella during pregnancy can lead to congenital rubella syndrome and serious birth defects in the unborn baby. Based on the results, the researchers advise obstetricians and other health care providers to inform unvaccinated women about rubella, the antibody test and vaccination. Women who are unsure whether to be tested and vaccinated should receive help in making this choice, according to the researchers.
Unvaccinated women of childbearing age are not routinely tested for antibodies. The advice to obstetricians is to test unvaccinated women for rubella during the first trimester of pregnancy. If the woman does not have antibodies, she can be vaccinated against rubella after pregnancy, protecting her for a subsequent pregnancy.
Outbreaks of infectious diseases occur regularly within the orthodox protestant denomination in the Netherlands. The last rubella epidemic in the Netherlands was in 2004-2005, in which 11 children were born with congenital rubella syndrome.
Persons who have ever been vaccinated or have experienced the disease can no longer contract rubella. For the study, 167 unvaccinated orthodox protestant women between the ages of 18 and 40 completed a questionnaire. In addition, 10 unvaccinated orthodox protestant women were interviewed. PhD student Anne de Munter (Primary Care Medicine, Radboudumc) and Prof. Dr. Marlies Hulscher (IQ Health) were involved in this study.
The questionnaires and interviews showed that three-quarters (74%) of the women had experience with rubella. Almost 70% of the women think they can no longer get rubella, and 24% of the women have doubts about this. Most women were (almost) sure they had rubella because their parents told them. It was not always clear whether it was really rubella or some other "spot disease. Only a few women were ever offered a rubella antibody test.
More than half of the women (56%) were unsure if they would have a rubella antibody test done if it was offered. 23% of women would definitely not want the test, and 21% of women would definitely want the test. If the test showed that they could still get rubella, 41% of women would not want a rubella vaccination. Only 4% of women would want it. The rest of the women (55%) are unsure.
Women cite various religious reasons for not wanting to be vaccinated. In addition, they do not perceive rubella as a danger because there is currently no rubella outbreak. Would there be a rubella outbreak? Then the women do want information about rubella and how to prevent infection.
Read the publication here:
de Munter AC, Hautvast JLA, Ruijs WLM, Ruiter RAC, Hulscher MEJL. Considerable doubt about rubella screening and vaccination among unvaccinated orthodox Protestant women: a mixed-methods study. BMC Public Health. 2023 Apr 14;23(1):693. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15625-8. PMID: 37059997; PMCID: PMC10102676