MEDICAL-STUDENTS EXPOSURE AND IMMUNITY TO VACCINE-PREVENTABLE DISEASES

Background: This study was conducted to assess medical students' immun ity to vaccine-preventable diseases, their exposure to these diseases, and their attitudes toward immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases. Methods: A cross-sectional, mailed survey was conducted of all 249 sen ior medical students in the 1991 graduating class at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Two mailings were sent during the autumn of t heir senior year. Results: The response rate was 77.5%. More than 90% of the students reported that they were immune to measles, mumps, rube lla, and hepatitis B but only 23% were immune to influenza. Fewer than half of the students had ever been queried about their immune status prior to clinical clerkships. One third of the students had had a need lestick exposure during their clinical training (including 8% to a kno wn hepatitis B carrier) and only 52% of these were reported by the stu dent. Ten percent to 20% of the students felt that immunity to measles , mumps, and rubella was only somewhat or not very important. Less tha n one third of the students felt that immunity to influenza was import ant for themselves as health care providers. Conclusion: This study do cumented inadequate levels of immunity among medical students to certa in vaccine-preventable diseases, that exposure to vaccine-preventable diseases was fairly common during clinical training, and that medical students often had inadequate attitudes about immunity to vaccine-prev entable diseases. These findings have implications for medical school immunization policies and curriculum content.