Exploring Influenza Vaccine Uptake and Its Determinants among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

While vaccination is the only established option to prevent a susceptible host from influenza, we have yet to clarify the decision-making mechanisms of vaccine uptake among Japanese university and college students. We aimed to explore vaccination coverage and the related demographic, sociocultural, and socioeconomic factors among university students. We performed a cross-sectional survey involving 604 students at Hokkaido University. Participants were asked if they received influenza vaccination in advance of the 2018/19 season, and subsequently, their demographic and sociocultural/socioeconomic characteristics were surveyed. We also explored the mechanisms underlying students’ vaccination decisions. Vaccination coverage was estimated at 27.3% (95% confidence interval: 23.7–30.9). Freshmen (p < 0.0001) were significantly associated with choosing vaccination, and their odds ratio of vaccination was 11.3 (95% confidence interval: 6.2–20.7) times greater than students in other years. Among students other than freshmen, students belonging to medicine- and healthcare-related faculties were vaccinated three times more frequently than other students, and the coverage in students from Hokkaido was twice as large as that for students from other prefectures. Moreover, extracurricular activity was a positive predictor of vaccination. Although the coverage was as small as 27.3% among university students, freshmen in Japan have high vaccination coverage, which we believe is associated with the entrance examination during high influenza activity. In addition to exposing students to proper education regarding their risk self-assessment, consciousness raising via appropriate understanding of influenza and its severity and offering vaccination at university health centers at a reasonable cost may promote vaccine acceptance.

Influenza Vaccination Coverage and Intention to Receive Hypothetical Ebola and COVID-19 Vaccines among Medical Students

“…Although this apparent increase in the vaccination rate among medical students is encouraging, the vaccination rate itself remains insufficient. Previous studies investigating influenza vaccination coverage among medical students worldwide reported vaccination rates varying from 4.7% in Iran to 86.3% in Canada [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Some studies found that clinical medical students were more likely to be vaccinated than those still in pre-clinical education [ 17 , 19 ], but this was not confirmed by subsequent investigations [ 13 , 25 ].…”

“…If people are motivated to receive vaccinations as students, they are likely to continue being vaccinated as HCWs in the future [ 11 ]. Studies show that vaccination coverage among medical students ranges from 4.7% in Iran to 86.3% in Canada (in various seasons) [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Influenza vaccines are well-known, safe, and recommended by medical authorities, yet only a fraction of Polish medical students decide to be vaccinated.…”

Knowledge, Barriers and Uptake of Influenza Vaccine among Non-Health College Students at Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

“…5 However the study was consistent with the one by Martinez, which showed that the majority of the participants did not receive influenza vaccine annually, and also with a study conducted by Kawahara and Nishiura to explore influenza vaccine uptake and its determinants among Japanese university and college students, which stated that students belonging to medicine and healthcare related faculties were vaccinated three times more frequently than other students. 15 , 16 The marked difference might be attributed to the difference in the field of the study as the studies from health sciences field showed more vaccination percentage than studies form other fields.…”

The Knowledge and Attitudes of Medical Students, Nurse Trainees, and Pediatric Patients’ Caregivers About Influenza and Influenza Vaccination in Prepandemic Era

“…Among students in all grades of medical education including freshmen and students training in medical and healthcare-related faculties were reported to have higher vaccination coverage than the others. 13 However, a comparison was not performed between the students with respect to their academic years in this study. Influenza vaccination rates are known to be quite low among Turkish HCWs.…”