What isn't measured isn't done - eight years with no progress in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult influenza and pneumococcal vaccination

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Aust N Z J Public Health. 2019 Oct 16. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12944. [Epub ahead of print] What isn't measured isn't done - eight years with no progress in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult influenza and pneumococcal vaccination.

Webster F¹, Gidding H^2,3, Matthews V⁴, Taylor R¹, Menzies R¹.
Author information

1 School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of NSW, New South Wales. 2 Clinical and Population Perinatal Health Research, The University of Sydney Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales. 3 National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, New South Wales. 4 The University Centre for Rural Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To describe and compare vaccination coverage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter referred to as Indigenous) adults in 2004-05 and 2012-13, including the impact of national vaccination funding initiatives.
METHODS:

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health cross-sectional surveys - 2004-05 (n=5,757) and 2012-13 (n=5,482) - were compared. Self-reported influenza and pneumococcal vaccination coverage among Indigenous adults was analysed by age, remoteness, gender and risk factor status.
RESULTS:

Influenza vaccination coverage among Indigenous adults in 2004-05 and 2012-13 remained low. While coverage increased for those aged 18-49 years from 23% to 29%, it declined for those aged ≥65 years from 84% to 74%. For remote areas, influenza coverage among those aged 50-64 years declined from 76% to 66%. Pneumococcal vaccination coverage remained very low and declined across all age groups in 2004-05 and 2012-13 (50-64 years: 30% to 23%). For remote areas, pneumococcal coverage declined among those aged 50-64 years from 52% to 32%.
CONCLUSIONS:

Indigenous adult vaccination coverage for influenza and pneumococcal disease remains unacceptably low. Between 2004-05 and 2012-13, declines occurred in pneumococcal vaccination coverage across all age groups ≥18 years. Despite national funding of influenza vaccine in 2010, there was no increase in influenza coverage, except for the 18-49-year age group. Implications for public health: Current approaches to promote, deliver and monitor vaccination of Indigenous adults are inadequate.
? 2019 The Authors.


KEYWORDS:

Aboriginal; Indigenous; adults; coverage; vaccination

PMID: 31617660 DOI: 10.1111/1753-6405.12944