Pneumococcal and Influenza Vaccination Coverage Rates of Adult Patients at Risk and Their Attitudes Towards Vaccination

Introduction: Pneumococcal and influenza infections are important sources of morbidity and mortality in older adults and high-risk persons. Although the efficacy and cost effectiveness of pneumococcal and influenza vaccines were shown by many studies, vaccination coverage of high-risk adults still remains low. In this study, we aimed to investigate the vaccination coverage rates of the patients, who were hospitalized at an acute care unit and their attitudes towards vaccination. Patients and Methods: A prospective observational study was done between November 2014-July 2015. A questionnaire, including their demographical characteristics, co morbidities, influenza and pneumococcal vaccination statuses and their attitudes towards vaccination was conducted on the patients admitted to the acute care unit. Their risk factors for vaccination indications were assessed. Results: 155 patients were enrolled to the study. The median age of the patients was 70 (18-91), and 41.3% of the patients were male. 93.5% of the patients had indication for both influenza and pneumococcal vaccination. Only 17.2% of the patients who had pneumococcal vaccination indication, and 29.7% of the patients who had influenza vaccination indication, were vaccinated. We found that recommendation to the vaccinated patients was mostly made by doctors from secondary or tertiary care rather than primary care doctors. The most common reason for not getting the vaccines was lack of knowledge of the patients. Conclusion: Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination indication rates were high in patients admitted to the acute care unit. In this study, we found that vaccination coverage rates are still low, there is a lack of knowledge of the patients and the doctors are not recommending vaccination to their patients. Raising awareness of healthcare providers and making them use every visit as an opportunity for vaccination would be effective to improve vaccination coverage rates for adults