Organising services for influenza vaccination for older people.

OBJECTIVES

To follow up a trial of home-administered influenza vaccination of older people to explore reasons for their immunisation behaviour, including their views on the organisation of services.

METHODS

Follow-up of original trial using analysis of records of 1865 older people and semi-structured interviews of 25 older people.

RESULTS

A once-off home visit does not appear to result in sustained changes in immunisation behaviour. Older people's behaviour appears to be largely explained by their beliefs about immunisation; the organisation of services may exert only small effects. Older people can be characterised as belonging to one of four groups in their orientation towards influenza vaccination: the 'faithful', who are keen to have vaccination; the 'converts', who have been persuaded of the benefits of vaccination and are likely to self-initiate appointments for vaccination; the 'easy-going', who require prompting for vaccination; and the 'sceptics', who perceive influenza vaccination to be ineffective or to be irrelevant for them because of their perceived inherent resistance to influenza. The last group sees vaccination as a form of interference and may be resistant to home visits to administer the vaccine.

CONCLUSIONS

Targets for immunising older people require more debate because of the delicate balance between achieving herd immunity and preserving autonomy and choice for older people.