Manickam Prebha, Varghese Tina, Senthilvasan Suwarna, Ramesh Rubithra, Balasubramaniam Suveitra Balanei
Department of Periodontology, Penang International Dental College, Butterworth, MYS.
Cureus. 2025 Jun 10;17(6):e85724. doi: 10.7759/cureus.85724. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Although the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, has emphasized that the public receive their influenza vaccine shots, with the latest announcement of free vaccines for senior citizens in Malaysia, vaccine hesitancy has been prevalent among society and more pronounced within the public who are not involved in the fields of healthcare. The present study aims to identify the influencing factors in receiving the influenza vaccine based on the vaccine hesitancy matrix proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Healthcare personnel and individuals from the non-healthcare fields were enrolled. A structured questionnaire was prepared and shared by the investigators. A mixed sampling approach was employed, initially utilizing convenience sampling, and then, a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) strategy was used to target all participants consenting to fill out the questionnaire. The participants received a soft copy regarding the importance of influenza vaccination upon completion of the questionnaire.
The present study showed that of the 176 participants surveyed, 80 (45.5%) were not vaccine hesitant, while 96 (54.5%) had vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy was found to be more in number among those who are not in the healthcare sector. Having been affected by influenza previously, personal risk perception and personal vaccination experiences were found to be significant influencing factors of the willingness to receive the vaccine.
This study contributes to an increased understanding of the factors influencing the willingness to accept the influenza vaccine. Specific educational programs, academic-community partnerships, transparent doctor-patient communication, and involvement of policymakers could boost the rate of active immunization among the public. The medical staff are suggested to provide health education, improve doctor-patient communication, and recommend vaccinations to the public to increase their risk perception and willingness to get an influenza vaccination.
尽管马来西亚卫生部强调公众应接种流感疫苗，随着马来西亚最近宣布为老年人提供免费疫苗，疫苗犹豫在社会中普遍存在，在非医疗保健领域的公众中更为明显。本研究旨在根据世界卫生组织（WHO）提出的疫苗犹豫矩阵，确定影响接种流感疫苗的因素。
招募了医疗保健人员和非医疗保健领域的个人。研究人员编制并分享了一份结构化问卷。采用了混合抽样方法，最初使用便利抽样，然后使用受访者驱动抽样（RDS）策略针对所有同意填写问卷的参与者。参与者在完成问卷后收到一份关于流感疫苗接种重要性的电子副本。
本研究表明，在176名接受调查的参与者中，80人（45.5%）没有疫苗犹豫，而96人（54.5%）有疫苗犹豫。发现非医疗保健部门的人员中疫苗犹豫的人数更多。曾感染过流感、个人风险认知和个人疫苗接种经历被发现是影响接种疫苗意愿的重要因素。
本研究有助于加深对影响接受流感疫苗意愿的因素的理解。具体的教育项目、学术-社区伙伴关系、透明的医患沟通以及政策制定者的参与可以提高公众的主动免疫率。建议医务人员提供健康教育，改善医患沟通，并向公众推荐疫苗接种，以提高他们的风险认知和接种流感疫苗的意愿。
