Determinants and coverage of seasonal influenza vaccination among women of childbearing age in Poland.

OBJECTIVES

Vaccination is the most effective method of controlling influenza in the human population, where pregnant women belong to a risk group that is especially vulnerable to influenza-related morbidity and mortality. The objectives of the survey were to report estimates of maternal vaccination coverage and assess reasons for the lack of influenza vaccination among Polish women of childbearing age.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The survey analysis included 564 pregnant women who had been surveyed in a self-reported questionnaire during the 2017-2018 influenza season in Warsaw, Poland.

RESULTS

Over 95% of Polish women of childbearing age did not vaccinate against influenza due to the low perception of risk and a lack of providing evidence-based information on vaccine by physicians and midwives. General practitioners were most often indicated as healthcare workers who educated women about influenza risk factors and recommended influenza vaccine to them.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the survey suggest that women of childbearing age did not vaccinate against influenza due to the low perception of risk and a lack of providing evidence-based information by healthcare workers (including obstetrician-gynaecologists and midwives), while their recommendations appear to be a powerful method of overcoming barriers to influenza vaccination among patients.