Strategies and challenges for immunisation of children under 5 years in primary health care in different countries: a scoping review.

This study mapped the strategies used by PHC to immunise children under 5 years of age, as well as identifying challenges in achieving vaccine coverage in accordance with goals set by countries' national immunisation programmes. This scoping review followed PRISMA-Scr (Scoping review) recommendations. The databases searched for information were PubMed, Science Direct, Embase and VHL (SciELO), from which 352 publications were retrieved and appraised for eligibility. Ultimately, 66 articles were selected for review. The results point to a variety of vaccination strategies used in different countries. Challenges facing PHC in improving vaccination coverage include lack of vaccines in low- and middle-income countries, such as Brazil. In high-income countries, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, remind-recall systems are particularly important. Challenges in the United States include the use of alternative vaccination calendars. This study highlighted important strategies adopted by PHC and the need to meet challenges, especially in middle- and low-income countries, in order to broaden access and improve vaccination coverage.