O papel do enfermeiro especialista na melhoria contínua da qualidade no âmbito da vacinação

Abstract

Vaccination is one of the most emblematic success stories in public health, as it provides individual and population protection and prevents infectious diseases. The National Health Plan 2021-2030 is aligned with the third Sustainable Development Goal, Quality Health, and names vaccine-preventable diseases as a Public Health problem of low magnitude, but with high risk potential, given that a decrease in investment in the quality and effectiveness of intervention strategies that control and/or prevent these diseases can manifest itself in their reappearance. There is an urgent need worldwide to strengthen intervention strategies aimed at ensuring equitable access to safe, effective and quality vaccines. This report was carried out in order to acquire the skills required for the Master's Degree in Nursing with a Specialisation in Community Nursing, in the area of Community Health and Public Health Nursing, in a Public Health Unit in the Northern Region of Portugal. The problem of the intervention project, anchored in the methodology of Health Planning, aimed to identify emerging health needs in the area of health quality within the scope of vaccination and to propose an intervention strategy inherent to the role of the Specialist Nurse in Community Health and Public Health in the face of the previously prioritised emerging need. In view of the extreme need to strengthen the strategies that promote the quality of vaccination services, as identified by the Health Regulatory Authorities, a health diagnosis was drawn up, from which eight health needs emerged. The prioritisation process, in agreement with the experts, highlighted the area of the cold chain as a priority, making it the main theme of the project, on which the objectives outlined, the intervention proposals drawn up and the respective indicators are based. The project has fostered continuous quality improvement through intervention proposals aimed at guaranteeing effective safety in the administration of vaccines by properly maintaining the conditions of the cold chain, which consequently leads to effective gains in public health.

Date of Award	23 May 2025
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	João Neves-Amado (Supervisor)