நுரையீரல் & சுவாச மருத்துவம்

Knowledge and Attitude toward Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine among the Elderly in Shanghai, China: A Crosssectional Questionnaire Survey

Abstract

Sun Xiaodong, Guo Xiang, Ren Jia, Wang Yueping, Pan Qichao and Zhao Genming

Background: The study is aimed at assessing the knowledge level of pneumonia and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) and attitude toward PPV23 immunization among the elderly people residing in Shanghai, exploring related factors to improve the inoculation of PPV23, and providing evidence for effective intervention strategy to PPV23 uptake.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Shanghai. Approximately 12000 household elderly aged 60 years and above from 12 neighborhoods (township) were chosen randomly to complete the questionnaires.

Results: A total of 11972 participants completed the questionnaires, 7414 (61.9%) of the participants knew about pneumonia, 8156 (68.1%) participants knew about PPV23. Of whom, 3649 people were responding to the question about PPV23 vaccination, 1315 (35.6%) were willing to receive PPV23. The awareness rate of PPV23 declined with age increase, and increased with education level and economic income increase. However, the willingness to accept the inoculation of PPV23 reduced by the education level and economic income increase. Over 80% of participants learned about PPV23 through television, posters, informed consents, people they know and physicians. Participants who didn’t know about PPV23 were willing to gain information about PPV23 through physicians, television, people they know, staff in vaccination clinic and informed consents.

Conclusions: The willing to inoculate with vaccine was based on the knowledge. 73.6% of the informants heard about pneumonia and 68.1% of them heard about its vaccine. But they needed further information through physicians, television, people they know and so on. The healthcare providers were the key to promote vaccination, and should be encouraged to play even more important role in the program of inoculation with PPV23 for olders in Shanghai.