What determines influenza vaccination take-up of elderly Europeans?

Abstract

We analyse the determinants of influenza vaccination take-up of Europeans above the age of 50 years using the first two waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement (SHARE). Using quality-of-care indicators, special emphasis is put on the measurement and the impact of physician quality. We find that age, health status, lifestyle, labour-force status, and the family structure are important determinants of the decision to get a flu shot. Physician quality, as measured by four indicators, also positively affects the probability of getting a flu shot.

Can Routine Offering of Influenza Vaccination in Office-Based Settings Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Adult Influenza Vaccination?

“…Healthcare professionals are typically the most common and trusted source of health information and often influence patients' decisions of whether or not to be vaccinated for influenza. [7][8][9][10][11][12] Emphasizing the prominent Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi: 10.1007/s11606-014-2965-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. role of healthcare providers in encouraging influenza vaccination, CDC stresses that "vaccination coverage can be increased by administering vaccine before and during the influenza season to persons during hospitalizations or routine healthcare visits" and recommends that corresponding "vaccination efforts should begin as soon as vaccine is available and continue through the influenza season, which typically extends through April".…”

Assessing inequalities in preventive care use in Europe

“…Underuse has been found in several countries and health care systems (see Kenkel 2000Kenkel, 1994Lairson et al, 2005;Schmitz andWübker, 2011, Carrieri andBilger, 2013)). However, while we know that income and education increase preventive care use, we still do not know the magnitude of disparities in preventive care use and whether preventive care distribution across individuals is unfair from a normative point of view.…”

“…For influenza immunisation the following need factors were considered: age 60+, self-assessed health and chronic conditions classified as high risk or intermediate risk (Schmitz and Wübker, 2011). In the data set, these are heart attack, lung disease, asthma, stroke, diabetes, and arthritis.…”

Does the Letter Matter (and for Everyone)? Quasi-Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Home Invitation on Mammography Uptake

“…Empirical evidence clearly indicates that women follow physician advice for different preventive decisions (e.g. Wübker, 2012;Schmitz andWübker, 2011 or Maurer, 2009). This is true in particular for socially deprived women (Uscher-Pines, Maurer and Harris, 2011) but evidence is missing for cognitive impaired women.…”