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Globally, smoking is one of the biggest challenges in public health and is a known cause of several important diseases. Influenza is preventable via annual vaccination, which is the most effective and cost-beneficial method of prevention. However, subjects who smoke have some unhealthy behaviours such as alcohol, low physical activity, and low vaccination rate. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between smoking status and factors potentially related to the influenza vaccination coverage rate in the South Korean adult population.
The study included 13,565 participants aged >19 years, from 2010 to 2012 from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. Univariate analyses were conducted to examine the association between influenza coverage rate and related factors. Multivariate analysis was obtained after adjusting for variables that were statistically significant.
The overall vaccination rate was 27.3% (n=3,703). Older individuals (P<0.0001), women (P<0.0001), non-smokers (P<0.0001), light alcohol drinkers (P<0.0001), the unemployed (P<0.0001), and subjects with diabetes mellitus (P<0.0001), hypercholesterolemia (P<0.0001), and metabolic syndrome (P<0.0001) had higher influenza vaccination coverage than the others. In multivariate analyses, current smokers and heavy smokers showed lower vaccination rates (odds ratio, 0.734; 95% confidence interval, 0.63–0.854).
In the current study, smokers and individuals with inadequate health-promoting behaviors had lower vaccination rates than the others did.
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We investigated the knowledge, status, and barriers toward healthcare workers receiving vaccinations among Korean family medicine residents. To date, a systematic study has not been conducted among medical practitioners examining these variables.
A web-based, anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to all 942 family medicine residents working in 123 training hospitals in Korea. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate factors affecting vaccination completion.
Korean family medicine residents (N=242, 25.7%) from 54 training hospitals (43.9%) participated in the survey. Only 24 respondents (9.9%) had correct knowledge on all the recommended vaccinations by the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases. The complete vaccination rates against hepatitis B virus and influenza were relatively high (69.4% and 83.0%, respectively), whereas they were relatively low against other infections (e.g., 16.5%– 53.1%). The most common reason for not receiving a vaccination was the belief that there was little possibility of infection from the vaccine-preventable diseases.
Knowledge and vaccination coverage were poor among family medicine residents in Korea. Medical schools should provide vaccination information to healthcare workers as part of their mandatory curriculum. Further research should confirm these findings among primary care physicians and other healthcare workers.
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This study aimed to investigate the association between living arrangements and influenza vaccination among elderly South Korean subjects.
We used data from the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants older than 65 years were included and categorized into 4 groups according to the type of living arrangement as follows: (1) living alone group; (2) living with a spouse group; (3) living with offspring (without spouse) group; and (4) living with other family members group. A total of 1,435 participants were included in this cross-sectional analysis.
A lower vaccination rate was observed in the living with offspring (without spouse) group, whereas the living with a spouse group had higher rates of both seasonal and H1N1 influenza vaccination. After adjusting for age, sex, region, education level, income level, and number of comorbidities, the living with offspring (without spouse) group had a higher H1N1 vaccination non-receipt rate than the living alone group (odds ratio, 2.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-3.82).
Influenza vaccination rates differed according to the type of living arrangement. Particularly, those living with offspring (without spouse) had the lowest H1N1 influenza vaccination rate compared to those with other living arrangements, and this difference was significant. Interventions to improve influenza vaccination coverage should target not only elderly persons who live alone, but also those living with offspring.
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