 |
 |
 |
|
 |
FDA Home Page | Search
FDA Site | FDA A-Z Index | Contact
FDA | FDA Centennial
| Email this Page To a Friend |
 |
Many people at high risk of flu infection mistakenly believe they're in a low-risk group and, as a result, are much less likely to get a flu shot, according to a researcher from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Public Health.
A study, conducted during the flu vaccine shortage of 2004 -- 2005, found that underestimating risk was common, particularly among people younger than 65 years old, says Noel T. Brewer, Ph.D., an assistant professor of health behavior and health education at UNC. Only 26 percent of younger adults at high risk were vaccinated that flu season, despite recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urging high-risk groups to get a flu shot.
The results also indicate what messages will encourage those most likely to get the flu to be vaccinated, Brewer says. "We need to be clearer about who is in the high risk groups. If we can frame health messages around easily identifiable risk categories, then others -- including family and friends of high risk individuals -- can help persuade those at high risk to get their flu shot," says Brewer. "This simple message could very well save lives."
The study, funded by the CDC, appears in the Dec. 1, 2006, issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Brewer notes that the 2004-2005 shortage apparently discouraged about 24 percent of high-risk people from being vaccinated. But the majority of study participants -- 73 percent -- said the shortage did not affect their behavior.
The study, led by Brewer and William K. Hallman, Ph.D., professor of human ecology at Rutgers University, surveyed a random sample of 300 adults in September 2004 and March 2005. The researchers examined the number of people at high risk of getting the virus, as defined by the CDC, and assessed how many got vaccinations. High-risk groups include older adults, ages 65 and older, and people from 18 years to 64 years old who had chronic health conditions. A third high-priority group comprised people who had regular contact with high-risk adults or children. Reasons for not getting vaccinated were also examined.
Of the 300 people surveyed, half who met the CDC's criteria for being top priority for vaccination said they believed their risk was low, and as a result they were not vaccinated. Also, though more than 60 percent of older people were vaccinated, according to Brewer, only 26 percent of younger adults at high risk and 36 percent of people who had regular contact with either of the other two groups were vaccinated.
"Underestimating one's risk was common, particularly among people
under age 65," Brewer says. "Most older people understood their
high risk, but two thirds of respondents in the other high risk categories
mistakenly thought they were at low risk. Only a couple people overestimated
their risk of infection."
The study also examined whether the news of a vaccine shortage during that
flu season changed behaviors. Twenty-four percent said the shortage discouraged
them from being vaccinated, while only 3 percent said the shortage encouraged
them to get a flu shot. Nearly 3 out of 4 participants said the shortage had
no effect on their behavior.
"This study helps us understand what messages will resonate with people, and encourage those most likely to get the flu to be vaccinated," Brewer said. About 36,000 people in the United States die each year from flu-related illnesses, so vaccinating the people who would be in the most danger if they got sick is a critical public health priority, he added.
www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention