Impact of education program on influenza vaccination rates in Spain

To assess the impact of a simple education program on adherence to influenza vaccination.

Randomized open controlled study.

The education program group (EPG) received an education program via surface mail, consisting of information regarding the effectiveness and safety of the influenza vaccine. The no-program group (NPG) received no intervention. All patients in 13 primary care practices in the city of Castellón, Spain, were included if they were 60 years or older on the first day of the 2009 seasonal influenza vaccination campaign.

There were a total of 2402 participants (mean age 70.4 [± 7.1] years); 1338 (55.7%) were women. In 2009, 950 participants (39.5%) received the vaccine, including 900 of the same participants (37.5%) who had received it in 2008 (P = .14). Of those vaccinated in 2009, 501 (52.7%) belonged to the EPG and 449 (47.3%) to the NPG (P = .01). In a logistic regression analysis we found an association between adherence to vaccination in 2009 and both vaccination in the previous year and receiving the educational intervention. Influenza-related morbidity was similar in both groups during the 7 months after vaccination.

A mailed reminder program was effective to improve influenza vaccination rate, but only to a limited extent. Vaccination the previous year was the main predictor of adherence to vaccination. More programs are needed to improve vaccination rates in the study community.