ROLE OF NURSING IN THE CHILD IMMUNIZATION PROCESS

Abstract

Introduction: Childhood vaccination is an essential public health measure to prevent vaccine-preventable diseases and reduce morbidity and mortality among children. The Ministry of Health uses the vaccination coverage system to monitor the progress of vaccination in the country. According to the Butantan Institute, the significant drop in vaccination coverage puts at risk the return of diseases that were previously eradicated in Brazil. As highly trained and accessible health professionals, nurses play a central role in promoting awareness about the importance of vaccines, providing guidance to the population, and safely administering immunizations. Thus, the study is guided by the following question: What is the role of nursing in the childhood immunization process? Methodology: this was a literature review. To guide the research, the following guiding question was adopted: "What is the role of nursing in the childhood immunization process?" To conduct the research, data were collected and analyzed from BVS sources, including databases such as LILACS, SCIELO, BDENF, and MEDLINE. The terms used for the research were DeCS: Nursing Care; Child; Immunization and Health, combined with each other by the Boolean operator AND. The inclusion criteria were established as follows: complete articles, written in Portuguese, English or Spanish, that addressed the topic in the last five years were considered. The exclusion criteria included theses, dissertations, monographs, articles that did not address the topic in question and duplicate studies in the databases. After conducting the initial search using the defined descriptors and Boolean operators, the abstracts of the selected articles were analyzed and reviewed. Then, the data were organized into tables and charts to facilitate discussion. Results and discussion: the data show that nursing plays an essential role in the immunization process, being responsible for guiding users regarding the relevance of vaccination and possible adverse effects. It is the nurse's responsibility to conduct, evaluate and train the team, ensuring that the vaccination process is understood and accepted by patients. Immunization represents a milestone in the advancement of humanity, highlighting the importance of the precise performance of the nurse. To achieve this, consistent technical and scientific knowledge is essential to ensure the quality of the care provided. Conclusion: given the study carried out, it is essential that nurses identify the causes of refusal to vaccinate and understand the impacts of this decision on the community, in addition to planning and implementing effective strategies to reduce these obstacles.