Coverage and Influencing Determinants of Influenza Vaccination in Elderly Patients in a Country with a Poor Vaccination Implementation

Abstract

The seasonal influenza vaccination uptake of the elderly in Poland is one of the lowest in Europe. Objective: to assess the vaccination coverage and influencing determinants in patients ≥65 years of age. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted (November 2015–April 2016) among consecutive patients admitted to a municipal hospital located in the city of Szczecin, North-west Poland. Patients completed researcher-administered, anonymous questionnaires on socio- demographic data/factors related to the vaccination. Results: The response rate: 92.0%. Among 230 patients (79.6% women, median of age 69 years, range 65–89) who agreed to participate, 34.8% (95% Confidence Interval: 28.6–41.0%) were vaccinated. About 15.7% of respondents had not previously heard about the vaccination; 41.3% of those who stated they were vaccinated or planned on being vaccinated the following year, compared to 19.3% of respondents who stated they were not currently vaccinated (p < 0.001). A multivariable regression analysis revealed that patient factors, such as younger age (Odds Ratio, OR = 7.69), living in the urban area (OR = 7.69), having comorbidities (OR = 2.70), having a vaccinated family member (OR = 3.57), and being informed about vaccination (OR = 5.00) were each associated with greater odds of being immunized. Willingness for vaccination the next year was strongly associated (OR = 8.59) with vaccination status. Conclusions: The influenza vaccination uptake in the elderly population in Poland is disturbingly low. Improved education strategies are needed to increase the uptake. Vaccinated respondents are more likely to plan on being vaccinated the following year. Future interventions related to maximizing vaccination coverage should be more tailored, focusing especially on older patients living in rural areas.

Vaccination concerns, beliefs and practices among Ukrainian migrants in Poland: A qualitative study

“…UMs pointed at di culties in communicating with Polish medical staff about the topic of vaccination. This nding corresponds with our previous research about vaccinations in various Polish population groups [37][38] which found that HCWs are not fully providing information about vaccinations. Therefore, front-line HCWs should increase their role in su cient information delivery to UMs regarding this important topic.…”

Low coverage rate and awareness of influenza vaccine among older people in Shanghai, China: A cross-sectional study

“…The adjusted influenza VCR was approximately 5.2% among older people during the 2016-17 influenza season in Pudong, Shanghai. This rate was not only markedly lower than the rates reported in European countries, [15][16][17][18] the United States, [19][20] Japan, 21 Jordan, 22 and Korea 23 but also lower than the rate reported in Beijing, 24 which is a similarly sized domestic city with an influenza vaccination subsidy policy for high risk groups (school-aged children and older adults aged 60 years. 5 However, a previous study reported that the mean influenza VCR of urban older people in four selected provinces without a vaccination subsidy policy was 4.1%, 25 which was similar to our finding.…”

Determinants of vaccination uptake, and influenza vaccine effectiveness in preventing deaths and hospital admissions in the elderly population; Treviso, Italy, 2014/2015-2016/2017 seasons

“…These results are consistent with other studies conducted in other countries. [29][30][31] Moreover, our data showed that influenza vaccination was usually received by the same individuals who were vaccinated in the previous seasons. This is in line with a recent systematic review on factors influencing flu vaccination behavior, which include previous vaccination history as one of the key factors, together with age, poor health status, medical service use, receiving knowledge/information from healthcare professionals.…”