[Attitude of adults at work towards influenza vaccination]

The authors had for aim to describe the main motivations of adults at work who spontaneously request influenza vaccine and the clinical profile of those vaccinated after the physician's suggestion.

A national cross-sectional survey was made in primary care practice. The physicians filled out a questionnaire describing their opinion on their vaccine practice and described the 7 first vaccinated adults between 18 and 64 years of age.

1,456 physicians included 9,163 patients 46+/-12 years of age. Two thirds (64.8%) of them were vaccinated against influenza after spontaneously requesting it. The arguments justifying these spontaneous requests were the professional consequences of influenza (45.7%), its familial consequences (42.0%), the discomfort induced by the disease (41.7%), financial consequences (20.3%), the risk for the home environment (19.6%) and the family, and professional pressure (17.2%). The physicians preferentially suggested vaccination to patients presenting respiratory risk factors and in particular prone to frequent respiratory infections (75.2%), with a history of bronchitis (69.2%) or asthma (68.3%). Less than one physician out of two suggested it systematically to smokers (43.1%) or patients having presented with influenza on the previous year (41.1%).

Among the adults at work vaccinated against influenza, two thirds spontaneously requested it, essentially for socioprofessional reasons, whilst its proposal by medical practitioners still remained limited to patients presenting a medical status likely to be worsened by influenza.