Vaccines, Barretta (Fimp), “Meningioca, to train pediatricians to immunize adolescents”

“We discovered, with a survey, that in health assessments – visits scheduled at specific moments in the child’s life, such as the third month of life – vaccinations are promoted systematically in only half of the cases. So we are there moved to improve this aspect, introducing technological tools such as ‘pop-ups’ in our management systems, which remind us to check the vaccination status during the health assessment Meningioca it was born from this need”. He said it Martino Barretta, head of vaccines and immunization of the Italian Federation of Doctors and Paediatriciansal Fimp national congress underway in Riminipresenting the second step of the training project for clinicians dedicated to anti-meningococcal b vaccination in adolescents.

“It’s one innovative training modalityfor paediatricians, inspired by the so-called ‘serious games’, which are less frequently used by doctors – explains Barretta – Last year we launched this ‘game’ which can also be downloaded from the Fimp website, similar to the goose game to facilitate pediatricians in promoting vaccination against meningococcal disease, a central issue for us. Although it is not a mandatory vaccination, it is highly recommended to prevent serious diseases in children aged 2-4 years. The idea was to create a game that would make the learning experience more enjoyable, while also making the learning process more memorable. This year we are launching a version for vaccination in adolescents, which must be promoted with equal importance since, after the peak in the first years, meningococcal infections have a second peak, precisely in this phase of life”.

To date, “only 10 regions have included this vaccination in their vaccination calendars, the last being Lombardy – recalls the pediatrician – The game aims to make this type of learning educational and attractive for paediatricians. We have also seen that games, in general, help you remember information better than a traditional lesson. We have been creative and we have been successful, with more than 300 pediatricians having participated in the game so far which has also triggered some great competition, given that, every month. , the pediatricians who obtained the best score were rewarded.”

Now, “having seen the results, we have also extended the project to vaccination to prevent the second peak of meningococcal disease in adolescence. We hope that this fun and innovative modality – concludes Barretta – will continue to excite paediatricians, particularly the younger ones, who they are more accustomed to these technologies.”