Regime de imunização com BCG

: a elegibilidade para a vacinação e o empoderamento comunitário

Abstract

Tuberculosis was, and still is, a serious Public Health issue. The disease incidence has been consistently decreasing in Portugal over the last years. Despite its favorable epidemiological profile, the number of cases in children has been slowly increasing. BCG vaccination protects children from Tuberculosis most severe forms and Portugal, in 2016, switched from universal vaccination to a selective approach, administering the vaccine only to children up to 6 years old that belong to risk groups, given its recognized link to vulnerable groups. Early children identification through the vaccine eligibility assessment by health professionals is essential to prevent and control the disease transmission in the community. The Public Health Unit, within the scope of its functions, namely epidemiological surveillance and management of the National Vaccination Program, is this entire process epicenter. Objective: To promote the nurse community commitment to BCG vaccination eligibility assessment and the Nursing Diagnoses Epidemiological Surveillance. Methodology: A community intervention project was developed based on the Health Planning methodology resorting to a community nursing theoretical framework, the Community Assessment, Intervention and Empowerment Model, by Pedro Melo. Results: After implementing the prioritization process, an 82% assessment rate of eligibility in children aged over 1 year was identified in the ACeS. It was also identified that the diagnosis Community Management was impaired in two of its domains: Community Participation (three impaired diagnoses) and Community Leadership (six impaired diagnoses, three in each of the Knowledge and Volition subdomains). Conclusion: Regarding Nursing Diagnoses Epidemiological Surveillance, the present study allowed to verify the lack of a Primary Health Care System Information nursing focus, with an associated clinical judgment that translates nursing professionals BGC vaccination eligibility assessment. The improvement seen in the eligibility assessment rate by the end of this study points to positive results in promoting community empowerment in the nurse community. This project allowed the acquisition and development of skills within the scope of a Specialist in Community Nursing in the area of Community Health Nursing and Public Health, as well as a Master’s degree in Nursing skills.

Date of Award	25 May 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Pedro Miguel Almeida Melo (Supervisor)