Understanding the Barriers and Attitudes toward Influenza Vaccine Uptake in the Adult General Population: A Rapid Review

Abstract

Influenza is a common respiratory infection associated with a substantial clinical, humanistic, and economic burden globally. Vaccines are essential to prevent and control influenza and are recommended by public-health agencies, such as the WHO and US CDC; however, vaccination rates vary considerably across the globe. This review aimed to investigate the perceived barriers and attitudes to influenza vaccination in the global population, in order to identify strategies that may improve influenza vaccination coverage. A structured literature search was undertaken to identify studies that reported on patient-reported attitudes towards influenza vaccination, focused on the adult general population in 16 prespecified countries. Eighty studies were included in this review. Negative attitude towards healthcare were found to be the most agreed upon barrier to vaccine uptake (31.1% agreement). The most agreed promoter of influenza vaccination was trust in healthcare services (62.0% agreement). Approximately 50% of participants intended to receive the influenza vaccine in the following season. To improve influenza vaccination coverage, healthcare workers must strengthen the foundation of substantial trust in healthcare services and provide educational materials that improve influenza vaccination knowledge among the adult general population.

Italian oncologists and vaccinations against infectious diseases: Results of a survey of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology

“…Moreover, among the 80 papers included in this review, 64 recommended that improved education might increase the uptake of the influenza vaccine and that physicians have a central role. 13 On the other hand, patients tend to accept vaccines with less doubt if they are proposed and administered by oncologists themselves. 14 This survey serves some food for thought.…”

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“…And the health care utilization in general also with the emergency room visits, the outpatient clinic visits for influenza-related illness is very important. And on top of that, we must always make sure that we include the selected at-high-risk populations such as older individuals, pregnant women, children, and all those with underlying health conditions that are considered high-risk [ 12 , 13 ]. The other elements from the methodological point of view is that we must be sure that we have data that are consistent across different studies, different populations, and different seasons [ 13 ].…”

“…And on top of that, we must always make sure that we include the selected at-high-risk populations such as older individuals, pregnant women, children, and all those with underlying health conditions that are considered high-risk [ 12 , 13 ]. The other elements from the methodological point of view is that we must be sure that we have data that are consistent across different studies, different populations, and different seasons [ 13 ]. And also, the design, of course, would require randomized studies, both in the clinical and in the real-world settings compared to the standard of care [ 12 , 13 ].…”

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“…Vaccine uptake is negatively affected by vaccine hesitancy, which is defined as adelay in accepting or refusing vaccinations, regardless of their availability. The doctor-patient relationship, vaccine efficacy concerns, and the media landscape have been identified in previous researchas factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy [7].…”