title: [Knowledge and attitudes toward vaccination among midwives in Quebec].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Vaccine acceptability among Quebec midwives is not well documented. The purpose of this study was to examine midwives' knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to immunization in Quebec.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants (17 midwives and 8 midwifery students). The mean duration of the interviews was 1 hour. The interviews were conducted in 2010 and were audiotaped, transcribed and submitted to content analysis using NVivo 8 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In addition to the laws regulating midwifery practice in Quebec, the findings suggest that most midwifery interventions are based on midwifery philosophy. Informed choice is one of the key principles of this philosophy. In order to help women make an informed decision about vaccination, midwives seek to outline the pros and cons of vaccination using government documentation, as well as other sources such as books on naturopathy. Most of the participating midwives recognized that vaccination has advantages, including disease prevention and free vaccines. Various arguments against vaccination were also identified. Most of these were related to the vaccination schedule and to combined vaccines. Some of the participants noted that it was difficult to find unbiased information about vaccination.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the key role of midwifery philosophy in midwifery practice. Most decisions (such as vaccination) are made on the basis of the principle of informed choice. Most of the participants noted that they lacked information on vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Institut national de santé publique du Québec 2400, av. D'Estimauville, G1E 7G9 Québec, Québec.
authors.forename: Eve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dubé
authors.forename: Maryline
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vivion
authors.forename: Alena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valderrama
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sauvageau
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008880:Midwifery; D011792:Quebec; D014611:Vaccination