Impact of multifaceted health education on influenza vaccination health literacy in primary school students: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND

Influenza remains a significant public health concern globally. We assessed the impact of multifaceted health education on influenza vaccination rates and health literacy among primary school students in China.

METHODS

This cluster randomized controlled trial enrolled fourth- and fifth-grade students from 20 primary schools in Dongguan, China. Schools were randomly allocated (1:1) by a computer program to either the intervention group, receiving multifaceted health education, or the control group, receiving standard health education. Data were collected at baseline and post-intervention. The primary outcome was influenza vaccination rate. Secondary outcomes included health literacy, influenza incidence, influenza-like illness incidence, and influenza vaccine protection rate. Both intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 3463 students (1544 [44.6%] females; mean [SD] age, 9.9 [0.7] years) were enrolled. The ITT analysis included 3463 participants (control group [n = 1811]; intervention group [n = 1652]) while the PP analysis included 3275 participants (control group [n = 1717]; intervention group [n = 1558]). The influenza vaccination rate was significantly higher in the intervention group than the control group (ITT: 173 [10.9%] vs 130 [7.4%], adjusted risk ratios 1.54 [95% CI, 1.23-1.93], P < 0.001; PP: 165 [10.6%] vs 116 [6.8%], adjusted risk ratios 1.61 [95% CI, 1.27-2.03], P < 0.001). The knowledge component of children's health literacy scores significantly increased in the intervention group post-intervention (ITT: mean differences 0.12 [95% CI 0.04-0.20], P < 0.01; PP: mean differences 0.12 [95% CI 0.04-0.21], P < 0.01). No significant differences were observed for other secondary outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The multifaceted health education significantly enhanced influenza vaccination uptake in primary school students. However, the increase was modest, indicating that more effective school-based influenza prevention programs are urgently needed to improve vaccine uptake in children.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Registered at ClinicalTrials.gov on 09/08/2023 (registration number: NCT06048406).