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Experimental Human Pneumococcal Carriage
Published on: February 15, 2013
Factors associated with pneumococcal vaccination uptake in over 50s in Ireland: a cross-sectional study using results
Kevin Organ1, Siobhan Scarlett1, Cathal McCrory1
1The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Introduction:
Pneumococcal vaccination is a key global health strategy to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with pneumococcal disease.
Methods:
This study examined the factors associated with pneumococcal vaccination uptake in community-dwelling older Irish adults using data from Wave 5 of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. For unvaccinated individuals, we also examined the factors associated with the likelihood of health professionals having discussed pneumococcal vaccination with them. Both relationships were modelled using Poisson regression.
Results:
Higher pneumococcal vaccination uptake was associated with having a history of previous influenza vaccination (incidence risk ratio, IRR=9.08; 6.69 to 12.32, p<0.001), being part of an at-risk medical group (IRR=1.41; 95% CI 1.26 to 1.58, p<0.001) and having reduced barriers to healthcare access with entitlement to a medical card or general practitioner visit card (IRR=1.65; 95% CI 1.08 to 2.51, p<0.05). For those who are unvaccinated, a higher likelihood of receiving medical advice regarding pneumococcal vaccination was seen in females (IRR=1.69; 95% CI 1.34 to 2.12, p<0.001), those aged 65-74 years (IRR=1.70; 95% CI 1.27 to 2.27, p<0.001) and those with an at-risk medical condition (IRR=1.58; 95% CI 1.25 to 2.00, p<0.01). Conversely, frail individuals compared with non-frail individuals were less likely to have received a pneumococcal vaccination recommendation (IRR=0.53; 95% CI 0.30 to 0.94, p<0.05).
Conclusions:
Pneumococcal vaccination uptake in eligible older Irish adults remains low, highlighting a significant unmet need. Targeted interventions to increase recommendations of the vaccination by healthcare professionals may help with reducing pneumococcal disease burden.
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