What are the beliefs and perceptions of practice nurses' influence about the uptake of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine?: An integrative literature review

AIM: The aim of this study was to ascertain the beliefs and perceptions of practice nurses' influence about the uptake of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. BACKGROUND: Immunization decision-making for parents is a complex process. Principle health professionals involved in immunization programmes are health visitors, general practitioners, and practice nurses. There is evidence that health visitors and general practitioners influence parental immunization decision-making. However, there is a lack of evidence about the influence of the practice nurse despite their well-documented role in immunization. DESIGN: Integrative literature review. DATA SOURCES: A systematic search of electronic databases, including CINAHL; Medline; PubMed; Google Scholar; ScienceDirect; and Scopus from February 1998 - April 2017. Hand searching and reviewing of secondary references were also undertaken. REVIEW METHODS: Two reviewers independently screened records on title and abstract. Studies where the beliefs and perceptions of practice nurses about the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine were explored and were published in English were included. The data were analysed using the integrative review processes. RESULTS: Twelve studies were included; these studies were principally descriptive and were of variable methodological quality. Four themes were identified: parental immunization influencing factors, practice nurse characteristics, information and communication, and personal views and concerns. While this review provides an excellent baseline for this information, more recent research conducted in the current policy environment is urgently needed to determine if these views persist. CONCLUSION: Immunization training and annual updates are essential for practice nurses to keep abreast with the evidence base underpinning national immunization programmes.