A Review of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Immunizations for Elderly Adults

Abstract

Vaccine preventable diseases are responsible for a substantial degree of morbidity in the United States as over 18 million annual cases of vaccine preventable disease occur in the U.S. annually. The morbidity due to vaccine preventable disease is disproportionately borne by adults as over 99% of the deaths due to vaccine preventable diseases occur within adults, and national data indicates that there racial disparities in the receipt of vaccines intended for elderly adults. A literature review was conducted by using the PubMed database to identify research articles that contained information on the vaccination rates among minority populations for selected vaccines intended for use in elderly populations including those for herpes zoster, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B. A total of 22 articles were identified, 8 of which focused on tetanus related vaccines, 2 of which focused on hepatitis related vaccines, and 12 of which focused on herpes zoster. The findings indicate that magnitude of the disparity for the receipt of tetanus and herpes related vaccines is not decreasing over time. Elderly patients having a low awareness of vaccines and suboptimal knowledge for when or if they should receive specific vaccines remains a key contributor to suboptimal vaccination rates. There is an urgent need for more intervention-based studies to enhance the uptake of vaccines within elderly populations, particularly among ethnic minorities where culturally sensitive and tailored messages may be of use.

Drivers of and barriers to routine adult vaccination: A systematic literature review

“…Our review consistently highlighted that there is an important need for targeted vaccination campaigns for older adults from select population groups, specifically racial or ethnic minority groups and foreign-born persons. Undervaccination of the older adults in these groups has been documented in other reviews at both national (United States) 100 and global levels. 96 , 101 , 102 Reaching these groups with COVID-19 vaccines has also been a challenge, 103 and although this was out of scope for the current review, it highlights the importance of increased support for different types of communities.…”

Editorial: Women in science: public health education and promotion 2023

“…Academic research dedicated to developing effective educational programs is increasingly intertwining with the pivotal role of health literacy in healthcare policies. The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that tailored health literacy initiatives are fundamental in combating non-communicable diseases and health disparities ( 1 , 2 ). Recent responses to emerging infectious diseases have underscored the urgency of addressing health literacy gaps within marginalized and underserved communities, given the proliferation of misinformation ( 3 ).…”

“…Recent responses to emerging infectious diseases have underscored the urgency of addressing health literacy gaps within marginalized and underserved communities, given the proliferation of misinformation ( 3 ). This urgency is compounded by persistent disparities in ethnic minority vaccine access ( 2 ) and variations in health literacy levels ( 4 , 5 ), necessitating tailored solutions that factor in diverse population characteristics.…”