Improving Family Physicians’ Vaccine Recommendation Behaviors for Non-Routine Vaccines (Meningococcal, Rotavirus, and HPV): A Two-Phase Intervention Study in Primary Care in Turkey

Background: In Turkey, meningococcal, rotavirus, and HPV vaccines are not included in the national schedule. We aimed to assess whether a face-to-face educational intervention could improve physicians’ knowledge about these vaccines and influence their subsequent counseling and recommendation practices. Methods: We used a two-phase intervention with pre/post assessment and a 4–6-week follow-up among family physicians. In Phase 1, participants received an in-person structured educational intervention on meningococcal, rotavirus, and HPV vaccines, and their knowledge was evaluated using identical true/false tests administered before and after the session. Phase 2, conducted 4–6 weeks later, measured changes in physicians’ self-reported frequency of providing recommendations about these vaccines, and whether they or their first-degree relatives had received any of the vaccines after the structured educational intervention. Differences in paired proportions were analyzed using McNemar’s test (p < 0.05). Results: Ninety-one physicians completed Phase-1; 70 from the same cohort completed Phase-2. Following the educational intervention, correct responses increased across multiple items: e.g., “Rotavirus vaccine is live” 89.0%→100% (p = 0.002); “Only humans are reservoir for meningococcal infection” 50.6%→96.7% (p < 0.001); “Meningococcal vaccine cannot be co-administered” (false) 70.3%→96.7% (p < 0.001). Phase-2 showed more proactive practice: for HPV, 52.9% reported recommending it “upon family request” and 27.1% “at every visit”; for rotavirus, these were 37.1% and 35.7%, respectively. Overall, 52.9% reported having administered one of the three vaccines to themselves or first-degree relatives after structured educational intervention; 62.2% rated the educational intervention’s influence on that decision as 10/10. Conclusions: A structured educational intervention improved family physicians’ knowledge and was associated with more proactive vaccine counseling and recommendation practices.