The implementation of a new measles vaccine mandate in Germany: A qualitative study in local health departments.

Background: Measles is a highly contagious disease with the potential for severe complications. Despite the availability of effective vaccines, there have been recurrent measles outbreaks in Germany over the past decades. In response, a new measles vaccine mandate was introduced on March 1, 2020, aimed at closing vaccination gaps in high-risk populations.

Barriers and drivers to COVID-19 vaccination among the migrant and non-migrant population in Germany, 2021.

Background: During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, immunization programmes struggled to reach all population groups equally. While migrant groups face multiple barriers to health systems, including vaccination, little is known about their vaccine uptake.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional telephone survey on adults with and without migration history in Germany to investigate barriers and drivers to COVID-19 vaccination (11 April 2021 to 18 December 2021).

What impact does the attitude toward COVID-19 vaccination have on physicians as vaccine providers? A cross sectional study from the German outpatient sector.

Background: COVID-19 vaccination is recognized as a key component in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Physicians' attitudes toward vaccination are known to play a defining role in the management and dissemination of medical advice to patients. In Germany, outpatient practitioners are predominantly responsible for the dissemination of vaccines.

How a generally well-accepted measles vaccine mandate may lead to inequities and decreased vaccine uptake: a preregistered survey study in Germany.

Background: In Germany, a measles vaccine mandate came into effect in March 2020, requiring proof of measles immunization for children attending kindergarten or school and for staff in a variety of facilities. Mandates can be successful if implemented with care and in a context-sensitive manner. They may, however, also lead to inequities and decreased uptake of other vaccines.

The effect of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination in the elderly on health service utilisation and costs: a claims data-based cohort study.

Background: To date, cost-effectiveness of influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations was assumed in several health economic modelling studies, but confirmation by real-world data is sparse. The aim of this study is to assess the effects on health care utilisation and costs in the elderly using real-world data on both, outpatient and inpatient care.

Methods: Retrospective community-based cohort study with 138,877 individuals aged ≥ 60 years, insured in a large health insurance fund in Thuringia (Germany).

Determinants of physician attitudes towards the new selective measles vaccine mandate in Germany.

Background: In Germany, a mandatory policy on measles vaccination came into effect in March 2020. Physicians, as the main vaccine providers, have a crucial role in implementing it. Mandatory vaccination changes the preconditions under which patient-provider communication on vaccines occurs.

Monitoring influenza vaccination coverage and acceptance among health-care workers in German hospitals - results from three seasons.

Health-care workers are an important vaccination target group, they are more frequently exposed to infectious diseases and can contribute to nosocomial infections. We established a country-wide online monitoring system to estimate influenza vaccine uptake and its determinants among German hospital staff (OKaPII). The online questionnaire included items on vaccination behavior and reasons for and against influenza vaccination.

Barriers and drivers to adult vaccination among family physicians - Insights for tailoring the immunization program in Germany.

Background: In Germany, vaccination gaps exist mainly among adolescents and adults. Family physicians (FPs) administer adult vaccines. FPs strongly influence the vaccination behavior and attitudes of their patients, so their own vaccination-related attitudes and behaviors are critical to achieve high vaccination coverage.

Increasing influenza and pneumococcal vaccine uptake in the elderly: study protocol for the multi-methods prospective intervention study Vaccination60.

Background: Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination can prevent disease and potentially life-threatening complications like sepsis. Elderly people have an increased risk of severe disease and therefore constitute a major target group for vaccination. To increase vaccination coverage, targeted interventions are needed that take theory-based specific determinants of vaccination behaviour into account.

Engagement in the Overdose RIsk InfOrmatioN (ORION) e-Health Tool for Opioid Overdose Prevention and Self-Efficacy: A Preliminary Study.

Increasing awareness of, and information about, overdose risk is an appropriate approach in risk reduction. e-Health technology in substance use disorders is an opportunity to support behavioral changes related to public health concerns. The present study aimed to evaluate the short-term impact of an innovative e-health psychoeducational software, the Overdose RIsk InfOrmatioN (ORION) tool.

Association between depression and non-fatal overdoses among drug users: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Assessing factors associated with non-fatal overdose is important as these could be useful to identify individuals with substance use disorders at high risk of adverse outcomes and consequences. Depression may play an important role in terms of overdose risk. We aimed to test if drug users suffering from a depressive disorder might have significantly higher risk of non-fatal overdose as compared with drug users without depression.

Talking openly: using '6D cards' to facilitate holistic, patient-led communication.

Objective: The study investigates the effectiveness and acceptability of a communication tool (the '6D Cards') in facilitating holistic, patient-led communication in medical consultations.

Design: A between-subjects design was employed, whereby patients were randomly allocated to either use the '6D Cards' to initiate conversation or engage in the usual discussion processes.

Setting: The study was carried out in an outpatient gynaecology clinic at a National Health Service (NHS) public hospital in a small town.

How are depression and autobiographical memory retrieval related to culture?

This study investigated how culture influences the association between autobiographical memory retrieval and depression. Thirty clinically depressed patients and 30 controls, 15 each from Britain and Taiwan, completed the English and Chinese versions of the Autobiographical Memory Cueing Task (AMT). Overall, the depressed individuals from both cultural groups retrieved significantly fewer specific and more categoric autobiographical memories than their matched, nondepressed controls.