Reasons for low influenza vaccination coverage – a cross-sectional survey in Poland

AIM: To assess the reasons for low influenza vaccination coverage in Poland, including knowledge of influenza and attitudes toward influenza vaccination. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, anonymous, self-administered survey in primary care patients in Lodzkie voivodship (central Poland). The study participants were adults who visited their primary care physicians for various reasons from January 1 to April 30, 2007. RESULTS: Six hundred and forty participants completed the survey. In 12 months before the study, 20.8% participants had received influenza vaccination. The most common reasons listed by those who had not been vaccinated were good health (27.6%), lack of trust in vaccination effectiveness (16.8%), and the cost of vaccination (9.7%). The most common source of information about influenza vaccination were primary care physicians (46.6%). Despite reasonably good knowledge of influenza, as many as approximately 20% of participants could not point out any differences between influenza and other viral respiratory tract infections. CONCLUSIONS: The main reasons for low influenza vaccination coverage in Poland were patients' misconceptions and the cost of vaccination. Therefore, free-of-charge vaccination and more effective informational campaigns are needed, with special focus on high-risk groups.