Does self-rated health status influence receipt of an annual flu vaccination?

[tetano]

Prev Med. 2019 Dec 2:105949. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105949. [Epub ahead of print] Does self-rated health status influence receipt of an annual flu vaccination?

Watson I¹, Oancea SC².
Author information

1 Master of Public Health Program, Department of Population Health, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, United States of America. 2 Master of Public Health Program, Department of Population Health, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, United States of America. Electronic address: cristina.oancea@und.edu.

Abstract

Despite 79,400 deaths due to the influenza (flu) virus during the 2017-18 season, <50% of US adults receive an annual flu vaccination (AFV). Self-rated health status (SRH) is associated with health behavior utilization. The current study aims to determine if an association exists between an individual's SRH and their receipt of an AFV. In the 2017 US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, 39.1% of respondents had received a flu vaccination within the last 12 months. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.0001) between the vaccination rates of men (35.7%) and women (42.4%). There was a significant positive association between SRH and AFV for individuals who self-reported an SRH of either "Fair" (AOR 1.19; 95% CI 1.12-1.27) or "Poor" (AOR 1.24; 95% CI 1.14-1.35), compared to those reporting a status of "Excellent". For those reporting an SRH status of "Fair", there was a significant positive association for both men (AOR 1.20; 95% CI 1.10-1.32) and women (AOR 1.17; 95% CI 1.08-1.28). An association was also found for men (AOR 1.203; 95% CI 1.09-1.39) and women (AOR 1.23; 95% CI 1.09-1.399) who reported their SRH as "Poor". Only women showed a significant association (AOR 1.12; 95% CI 1.04-1.20) among those whose SRH was "Good". No association was found for individuals who reported SRH as "Very Good". These findings are of interest to health policy makers as they show there is still work required to convince individuals with a high SRH that they too need to receive an AFV.
Copyright ? 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc.


KEYWORDS:

BRFSS 2017; Influenza; Influenza vaccination; Self-rated health status

PMID: 31805314 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105949