Immunisation

Last update: 7 November 2006,
by Maureen Bell

Searching Medline

Remember that Medline has a Thesaurus of terms - MeSH (Medical Subject Headings), a controlled vocabulary used for indexing articles in Medline. MeSH terminology provides a consistent way to retrieve information where authors may use different terminology for the same concepts.

You will find material on weight problems and immunisation in Medline, but you will need to be aware of the thesaurus (MeSH) terms used to search for the various topics. You can see these listed in the MeSH database.

MeSH - Immunization

MeSH - Immunization Programs

MeSH - Vaccination

MeSH - Vaccines

Many topics in MeSH have hierarchies of more specific subcategories or related terms. The indentations in the list reflect the structure of the hierarchy, and the + signs at the end of terms indicate that there is a further hierarchy of terms not displayed here. Any of these terms can be searched individually, or you can "explode" terms to search sections of the list.

When you search for subjects using MeSH terms from the Medline thesaurus you will also have the option of appending subheadings to narrow the focus of your search.

For a list of the abbreviations used for subheadings in PubMed click here

Other MeSH Headings Which May Be Useful

For this topic (and many others in the public health area) public attitudes are very important, and below are some headings you might like to consider.

MeSH - Attitude to Health

MeSH - Patient Acceptance of Health Care

MeSH - Public Opinion

MeSH - Treatment Refusal

PubMed Search Formulation

(viral vaccines[majr] OR immunization[majr]) AND (attitude to health[majr] OR public opinion[majr]) AND english[lang] NOT AIDS vaccines[majr]

In this search strategy the section in the square brackets after each term includes majr - which focuses the search on articles where the subject is a major issue in the article. The terms viral vaccines or immunization will be combined with either attitude to health, or public opinion, and the search is then limited to articles which are in English or which have English abstracts. AIDS vaccines are excluded, as they are not wanted in this search.

PubMed's default setting is to "explode" all terms, and so this search will include the subcategories of each term listed. It will therefore search the subcategories of viral vaccines listed below.

AIDS Vaccines
Cytomegalovirus Vaccines
Herpesvirus Vaccines +
Influenza Vaccine
Japanese Encephalitis Vaccines
Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine
Measles Vaccine +
Mumps Vaccine +
Parainfluenza Vaccines
Poliovirus Vaccines +
Pseudorabies Vaccines
Rabies Vaccines
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines
Rotavirus Vaccines
Rubella Vaccine +
SAIDS Vaccines
Smallpox Vaccine
Viral Hepatitis Vaccines +
Yellow Fever Vaccine

Click here to see how it works on PubMed

For Australian material don't forget to check Meditext too.

Meditext
Access restricted to staff and students of Adelaide University
Bibliographic database which indexes and abstracts articles from Australian health and medical journals which are not indexed in Medline. It covers all aspects of health and medicine with an emphasis on clinical medicine and paraprofessional fields. Includes journals, conference proceedings, government reports, selected monographs and the full text of most NHMRC sessions. Contains full text for a number of publications for which there is no other full text online source available.

Australian Sources

Anti-immunisation scare: The inconvenient facts
An article by Dr Steve Basser from The Skeptic, vol. 17, no.1. Autumn 1997 (The Skeptic is the national journal of the Australian Skeptics).

The Australian Immunisation Handbook 8th ed.
Published by the National Health and Medical Research Council, 2003.

Common Side Effects of Immunisation and What to do About Them (Immunise Australia Campaign)
Clearly presented information for consumers.

General Practice Immunisation Incentives Program
From Medicare Australia.

Health Report - Vaccines and Immunity
Transcripts from Radio National's Health Report, with Norman Swan.

Immunisation Index
Information about imunisation and communicable diseases from the South Australian Department of Health.

Immunisation: Myths and Realities
Immunisation: Myths and realities: Responding to arguments against immunisation: A guide for providers. 3rd edition. Canberra, Department of Health and Aged Care, 2000.

Immunisation Publications
From the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, this is a list of publications many of which have full text available online.

Immunise Australia Program
From the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, Population Health Division, the Immunise Australia Program is a joint Commonwealth-State program which aims to increase national childhood immunisation rates so as to reduce the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases in the Australian community. There are links to a number of relevant publications.

Overseas Sources

bmj.com Collected Resources : Drugs: immunological products and vaccines

bmj.com Collected Resources : Other immunology

Calling the Shots: Immunization Finance Policies and Practices
Committee on Immunization Finance Policies and Practices, Division of Health Care Services and Division of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Institute of Medicine. Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, 2000.

CDC Anthrax Vaccine Safety & Efficacy Research Program: Interim Report
Committee to Review the CDC Anthrax Vaccine Safety and Efficacy Research Program, Board of the Medical Follow-Up Agency, Institute of Medicine. Washington, D.C., Natioanl Academies Press, 2001.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - National Immunization Program
This site from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States has a wide range of material including information on vaccination recommendations, vaccine safety, and the importance of immunisation.

Childhood Immunisation and Vaccination Information
Published by Health Promotion England for the NHS and the Department of Health the information at this site is aimed at the general public and health professionals.

eCMAJ -- Collected Resources : Vaccination

Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
Epidemiology and prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases: course textbook. (Also known as The Pink Book). Atlanta, Ga., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Immunization Program. Chapters are readable as .pdf files.

Immunization and Vaccines - Public Health Agency of Canada

Immunization Safety Review: Influenza Vaccines and Neurological Complications
Kathleen Stratton, Donna A. Alamario, Theresa Wizemann, and Marie C. McCormick, Editors, Immunization Safety Review Committee, Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Washington D.C., National Academies Press, 2004.

Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism
Kathleen Stratton, Alicia Gable, Padma Shetty, and Marie McCormick, Editors, Immunization Safety Review Committee, Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Washington D.C., National Academy Press, 2001.

Immunization Safety Review: Multiple Immunizations and Immune Dysfunction
Kathleen Stratton, Christopher B. Wilson and Marie C. McCormick, Editors, Immunization Safety Review Committee, Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Washington D.C., National Academy Press, 2002.

ImmunoFacts
This Immunization Gateway is an electronic service of ImmunoFacts, by John D. Grabenstein, PhD, a pharmaco-epidemiologist with the U.S. Army Medical Command Company. The site is maintained by Facts and Comparisons - A Wolters Kluwer Company. Resources include ImmunoFacts - Statistical Sources , a series of links to selected Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports.

Medinfo: MMR Vaccination
A useful information brochure from MedInfo in the U.K.

The Vaccine Page: Vaccine News and Database
From the editors of UniScience News.

Vaccine Research Publications at the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
A selection of publications including fact sheets and brochures, and news releases on vaccine research.

Vaccines (Bandolier Library)
Bandolier is a print and Internet journal about health care, using evidence-based medicine techniques to provide advice about particular treatments or diseases for healthcare professionals and consumers.

Vaccines for the 21st Century: A Tool for Decisionmaking
Kathleen R. Stratton, Jane S. Durch, and Robert S. Lawrence, Editors. Committee to Study Priorities for Vaccine Development Division of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Institute of Medicine. Washington D.C., National Academy Press, 2001.

Vaccines, Immunization and Biologicals
From the World Health Organization, information on immunisation profiles country by country.

VAERS - The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is a cooperative program for vaccine safety of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.