Factors affecting uptake of influenza vaccination among family physicians

The aim of this study was to determine the factors that influenced the decisions of family physicians working in primary care health services to receive influenza vaccines.

This cross-sectional study was performed between June 2014 and September 2014. Physicians were reached electronically via e-mail. A self-reported questionnaire consisting of 50 items covering potential factors that may have influenced their decision to receive vaccination, including perceived risk, severity of the perceived risk, perceived benefit, perceived barriers, cues to action, attitudes, social influences and personal efficacy, was administered to the study participants. Cronbach's alpha for the questionnaire was determined to be 0.92 in the pilot study.

The response rate was 27.5% (n=596). Regularly vaccinated physicians accounted for 27.3% of the responses. The median age was 41.84±7.80, and the median working duration of the group was 17.0±7.8years. The factors that led to increased vaccination compliance (p<0.05) included working duration, age, chronic disease history and living with a person over 65years. Nearly all major domains, i.e., perceived risk, severity of the perceived risk, perceived benefit, perceived barriers, attitudes, social influences and personal efficacy, there were differences between the compliant and noncompliant groups. Multi-regression analyses revealed that risk perception, organizational factors such as time and convenient vaccination increased vaccine compliance. However, the perceived necessity to be vaccinated annually had a negative effect on vaccination behaviour (p<0.05).

Strategies aimed to increase the flu vaccination ratio among physicians that do not take different factors into account are more likely to be unsuccessful. In the planning and implementation of strategies aiming to increase the vaccination ratio among physicians, it is both necessary and important to take into account behavioural and organizational factors.