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Silvonen T, Kesten J, Cabral C, Coast J, Ben-Shlomo Y, Christensen H. Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:vaccines11040870. [PMID: 37112783 PMCID: PMC10144107 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11040870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaccination reduces the risks related to infectious disease, especially among more vulnerable groups, such as older adults. The vaccines available to older adults in the UK through the government-funded programme currently include influenza, pneumococcal, shingles and COVID-19 vaccines. The purpose of the programme is disease prevention and improving wellbeing among the ageing population. Yet, the target population's views of the programme remain unknown. This paper aims to increase the understanding of older adults' perceptions of the vaccination programme available in the UK. A total of 13 online focus groups (56 informants) were carried out for this qualitative study. The findings indicate that getting vaccinated involves personal decision-making processes, which are influenced by previous experiences and interpersonal interactions. Factors related to the wider community and culture are less prominent in explaining vaccination decisions. However, opportunistic vaccination offers, a lack of information and a lack of opportunities to discuss vaccines, especially with healthcare professionals, are prominent factors. The study provides in-depth data about the rationale behind older adults' vaccination decisions in the UK. We recommend that the provision of information and opportunities to discuss vaccines and infectious disease be improved to enable older adults' to make better informed decisions regarding the vaccines available to them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taru Silvonen
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Jo Kesten
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol BS8 2BN, UK
- The National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West), University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol BS1 2NT, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2PS, UK
| | - Christie Cabral
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Jo Coast
- Health Economics Bristol, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1NU, UK
| | - Yoav Ben-Shlomo
- The National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West), University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol BS1 2NT, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2PS, UK
| | - Hannah Christensen
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol BS8 2BN, UK
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Abstract
Regions with insufficient vaccination have hindered worldwide poliomyelitis eradication, as they are vulnerable to sporadic outbreaks through reintroduction of the disease. Despite Israel's having been declared polio-free in 1988, a routine sewage surveillance program detected polio in 2013. To curtail transmission, the Israel Ministry of Health launched a vaccine campaign to vaccinate children-who had only received the inactivated polio vaccine-with the oral polio vaccine (OPV). Determining the degree of prosocial motivation in vaccination behavior is challenging because vaccination typically provides direct benefits to the individual as well as indirect benefits to the community by curtailing transmission. However, the Israel OPV campaign provides a unique and excellent opportunity to quantify and model prosocial vaccination as its primary objective was to avert transmission. Using primary survey data and a game-theoretical model, we examine and quantify prosocial behavior during the OPV campaign. We found that the observed vaccination behavior in the Israeli OPV campaign is attributable to prosocial behavior and heterogeneous perceived risk of paralysis based on the individual's comprehension of the prosocial nature of the campaign. We also found that the benefit of increasing comprehension of the prosocial nature of the campaign would be limited if even 24% of the population acts primarily from self-interest, as greater vaccination coverage provides no personal utility to them. Our results suggest that to improve coverage, communication efforts should also focus on alleviating perceived fears surrounding the vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad R Wells
- Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06520
| | - Amit Huppert
- The Biostatistics & Biomathematics Unit, The Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel
- School of Public Health, The Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Meagan C Fitzpatrick
- Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06520
- Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201
| | - Abhishek Pandey
- Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06520
| | - Baruch Velan
- The Biostatistics & Biomathematics Unit, The Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621 Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Burton H Singer
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610;
| | - Chris T Bauch
- Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Alison P Galvani
- Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06520
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