Influenza vaccination coverage in the geriatric population of the State ofGeneva, Switzerland

Background: In Switzerland, every year the Federal Office of Public Health publishes recommendations for the use of influenza vaccine in people over 6 5 years, patients of all ages suffering from chronic conditions or immunosu ppression, families of the latter and health professionals. However, prior to the present study, there has been no evaluation of the degree to which t hese recommendations are implemented. The purpose of the survey described i n this article was to evaluate flu vaccination coverage of the geriatric po pulation living in the community, to obtain qualitative information on the motivation for receiving vaccination and to understand the network of commu nication on flu prevention. Methods: The study was performed on a random sa mple of 1,200 residents of the State of Geneva aged 65 years or older. It i nvolved a mail questionnaire and semi-structured telephone interviews on a subsample of respondents. Results: The estimated vaccination coverage for 1 994 was equal to 35.5% in persons 65 years-old or older. Receiving informat ion from a physician was the major determinant in the decision to be vaccin ated. Misconceptions about flu were common, Conclusions: The results of thi s study indicate that national recommendations concerning vaccination of el derly people are insufficiently observed in the State of Geneva. It is nece ssary to reinforce preventive messages that explain why flu vaccination sho uld be performed. These messages should aim at correcting and completing el ements of information already present in the at-risk population.