Survey of physician acceptance of the pneumococcal vaccine

A group of 251 randomly selected physicians completed a survey designed to study their attitudes toward, knowledge about, and use of pneumococcal vaccine. Eighty-five percent of respondents believed the vaccine had been proven effective. For the use of the vaccine, respondents supported broad indications, including chronic lung disease, alcoholism, and congestive heart failure. Some respondents expressed concern about the safety of the vaccine. Physicians who learned about the vaccine from continuing medical education programs, colleagues, and pharmaceutical representatives were likely to use the vaccine more often than those who did not.