title: Validity of self-reported vaccination status among French healthcare students.
abstract: Data on validity of self-reported vaccinations are scarce. This study, performed on healthcare students in Paris (France), aimed to evaluate this validity for occupational vaccinations. The validity of self-reported vaccination status was compared with written information. A total of 432 students were enrolled. Sensitivity rates for BCG, hepatitis B and measles were over 74%. For diphtheria-tetanus-polio and pertussis, sensitivity was below 50%. Specificity was between 70 and 95% for dTP-pertussis, and below 35% for all others. Overall, the validity of self-reported information was low, meaning that checking medical records remains the preferable strategy for assessing immunization status.
authors.affiliation: Paris Sorbonne Cité, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Inserm CIC 1417, Paris, France; Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Groupe Hospitalier Cochin-Hôtel Dieu-Broca, CIC Cochin-Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Loulergue
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pulcini
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Massin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bernhard
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fonteneau
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Levy-Brühl
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Guthmann
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Launay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010297:Paris; D057566:Self Report; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013334:Students; D014611:Vaccination; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Healthcare students; occupational vaccination; sensitivity; specificity; validity