Adult vaccination insights

Social science researchers from the National Vaccination Insights Project conducted a nationally representative survey of 2,055 adults over 18 years of age to better understand what motivates them to receive the recommended influenza (flu) vaccine.¹ 

The researchers have worked closely with the World Health Organization to adapt, pre-test and validate the Behavioural and Social Drivers (BeSD) of vaccination survey, which is being developed to support global efforts to better understand the drivers of adult flu vaccination.¹ 

A qualitative interview study with adults over 18 years of age is being carried out to further understand the vaccination motivators identified in the survey. Results are expected in 2025.
 

Summarised key findings from the survey
 

• Flu vaccination intention vs action: 84.1% of adults ≥65 years of age said they wanted to get a flu vaccine – however, the latest 2024 flu vaccination coverage data show only 60.5% of people in this age group were vaccinated, revealing a dramatic gap between intention and action.
  
   
• Familiarity with flu vaccination: Adults who received a flu vaccine in the last two years were 10.4x more likely to want a flu vaccine than adults who did not receive a flu vaccine in the last two years (aOR: 10.35; 95% ǀ CI: 7.09–15.11 ǀ P<0.001).
  
   
• Personal responsibility: Adults who felt they had a responsibility to get a flu vaccine were 4.1x more likely to want a flu vaccine than adults who did not feel this responsibility (aOR: 4.05; 95% ǀ CI: 2.88–5.68 ǀ P<0.001).
  
   
• Personal protection: Adults who believed the flu vaccine offered them personal protection were 2.7x more likely to want a flu vaccine than adults who did not have this belief (aOR: 2.66; 95% ǀ CI: 1.76–4.01 ǀ P<0.001).
  
   
• Family and friends: Adults who believed close family and friends wanted them to get a flu vaccine were 2.4x more likely to want a flu vaccine than adults who did not have this belief (aOR: 2.35; 95% ǀ CI: 1.67–3.3 ǀ P<0.001).
  
   
• Healthcare professional (HCP) recommendation: Adults who received a recommendation from an HCP to get a flu vaccine in the last two years were 1.7x more likely to want a flu vaccine than adults who did not receive a recommendation from an HCP (aOR: 1.70; 95% ǀ CI: 1.24–2.32 ǀ P<0.001).
  
   
• Community protection: Adults who believed the flu vaccine offered the community protection were 1.6x more likely to want a flu vaccine than adults who did not have this belief (aOR: 1.60; 95% ǀ CI: 1.08–2.01 ǀ P=0.01).
  
   
• Personal health: Adults who believed the flu vaccine was important for personal health were 1.5x more likely to want a flu vaccine than adults who did not have this belief (aOR: 1.53; 95% ǀ CI: 1.03-2.27 ǀ P=0.04).
  
   
• Chronic health conditions: Adults with chronic illnesses – defined in the survey as obesity, diabetes, lung disease, high blood pressure and other long-term conditions – were 1.5x more likely to want a flu vaccine than adults without chronic conditions (aOR: 1.50; 95% ǀ CI: 1.08 –2.1 ǀ P=0.02).
  
   
• Community leaders: Adults who believed community leaders wanted them to get a flu vaccine were nearly 1.5x more likely to want a flu vaccine than adults who did not have this belief (aOR: 1.48; 95% ǀ CI: 1.08–2.01 ǀ P=0.01).
  
   
• Increasing age: The likelihood of adults wanting a flu vaccine increased by 2% with every one-year increase in age  (aOR: 1.02; 95% ǀ CI: 1–1.03 ǀ P=0.002).^1,2

aOR=adjusted odds ratio; CI=confidence interval; P=p-value 
 

Access the pre-print study

About the project

References

1. Christou-Ergos M, Sabahelzain MM, Steffens M, Kaufman J, Bolsewicz K, Danchin M & Leask J. The drivers of influenza vaccination in adults: insights from a national Australian survey. Vaccine. [Forthcoming] 
    
2. National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance Australia. Influenza vaccination coverage data. Available from https://ncirs.org.au/influenza-vaccination-coverage-data