Expanded program of immunization in the Maghreb. Case study of Tunisia.Systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Background: Vaccination is the most cost-effective intervention for primary prevention. The Maghreb countries had joined the The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). Tunisia had also introduced the vaccine against hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib).

Objective: To describ, through a systematic review, the specific documentation on the EPI in Tunisia.

Method: Target publications were collected using Medline database and Google Scholar from published articles from January 01 1998 to December 12 2017. The synthesis of the data was done according to four axes: "input", "process", "output" and "outcome".

Results: 17 articles were analyzed, with an average of 4 publications every 5 years. The author's specialty was community and preventive medicine in 56% of cases. Six articles focused on the "input" vaccination program, five related to the immunization process and the other five articles examined output and outcomes.

Conclusion: Tunisian publications concerning vaccination were rare, their efficiency and impact on the change of national vaccination strategy was crucial. Research coordination between Maghreb countries is highly recommended to meet the growing information needs.