Seasonal Influenza Vaccination among Patients with Chronic Diseases: Prevalence, Acceptability, and Hesitation
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- Category: Vol. 92, March 2024
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Seasonal Influenza Vaccination among Patients with Chronic Diseases: Prevalence, Acceptability, and Hesitation, HAIFA MOHAMMED AL NAFEA
Abstract
Background: Seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) is an essential public health measure for preventing the spread of influenza viruses and mitigating the adverse health effects asso-ciated with them. Vaccination is particularly crucial for individ-uals with Chronic diseases (CDs), as they are at a higher risk of developing complications from the influenza virus. Aim of Study: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of influenza vaccine (IV) uptake among CD patients, the factors influencing it, and what the main reasons were for those who chose to receive the IV and those who did not. Material and Methods: A secondary analysis was conduct-ed on 241 participants with CDs who were aged 18 years or older based on a previous cross-sectional study. Results: A total of 43.2% of the participants received the IV during flu sessions in 2023. SIV was significantly associat-ed with the source of information regarding vaccination. There was a higher probability (OR=1.49) of people not taking the IV when they received information from an untrusted source. Pa-tients with immune diseases were more likely not to choose to take the vaccine (OR=3.04), while patients with diabetes were less likely to not take it (OR=0.64). Participants with CDs were more likely to choose to take the influenza vaccine due to en-couragement from their healthcare providers than to their cur-rent health. In contrast, many CD patients refused vaccination without an apparent reason. Conclusion: Patients with CDs had low influenza immuni-zation rates. Primary healthcare practitioners should implement new and more effective methods of educating susceptible pop-ulations to increase influenza vaccination rates.