ArticleFrontiers in public health2026
Vaccination gaps in decentralized emergency response: understanding immunization barriers among volunteer firefighters. A cross-sectional mixed methods study.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Volunteer firefighters are crucial for decentralized emergency response systems but operate outside standardized occupational health frameworks. Despite elevated exposure to biological hazards, systematic data on vaccination knowledge, immunization status, and preventive health engagement in this population are limited. To better understand the determinants of their preventive health engagement, and to inform strategies that strengthen operational readiness and public health resilience, this study examined vaccination behavior among German volunteer firefighters and identified determinants of immunization uptake. Methods: Between April 2025 and August 2025, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 150 active volunteer firefighters. Data were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis, following Mayring's framework. Vaccination status, evaluation of vaccination, and willingness to undergo medical surveillance were assessed. K-means cluster analysis identified behavioral typologies, and Spearman's correlations examined the associations between risk perception, social integration, and vaccination behavior. Results: Approximately one-third of the participants could not confirm their current immunization status. The most common vaccinations recorded among the 150 firefighters were tetanus ( Discussion: Substantial vaccination knowledge gaps, incomplete documentation, and heterogeneous behavioral patterns shaped by professional background and institutional trust characterized the population surveyed. Effective interventions require differentiated strategies that address structural barriers, transparent communication, integration with valued occupational health surveillance, and recognition of distinct motivational profiles across volunteer firefighter subgroups.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.