Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study
Vaccination reduces the risks related to infectious disease, especially among more vulnerable groups, such as older adults. The vaccines available to older adults in the UK through the government-funded programme currently include influenza, pneumococcal, shingles and COVID-19 vaccines. The purpose...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Vaccines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/4/870 |
| _version_ | 1797603181836894208 |
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| author | Taru Silvonen Jo Kesten Christie Cabral Jo Coast Yoav Ben-Shlomo Hannah Christensen |
| author_facet | Taru Silvonen Jo Kesten Christie Cabral Jo Coast Yoav Ben-Shlomo Hannah Christensen |
| author_sort | Taru Silvonen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Vaccination reduces the risks related to infectious disease, especially among more vulnerable groups, such as older adults. The vaccines available to older adults in the UK through the government-funded programme currently include influenza, pneumococcal, shingles and COVID-19 vaccines. The purpose of the programme is disease prevention and improving wellbeing among the ageing population. Yet, the target population’s views of the programme remain unknown. This paper aims to increase the understanding of older adults’ perceptions of the vaccination programme available in the UK. A total of 13 online focus groups (56 informants) were carried out for this qualitative study. The findings indicate that getting vaccinated involves personal decision-making processes, which are influenced by previous experiences and interpersonal interactions. Factors related to the wider community and culture are less prominent in explaining vaccination decisions. However, opportunistic vaccination offers, a lack of information and a lack of opportunities to discuss vaccines, especially with healthcare professionals, are prominent factors. The study provides in-depth data about the rationale behind older adults’ vaccination decisions in the UK. We recommend that the provision of information and opportunities to discuss vaccines and infectious disease be improved to enable older adults’ to make better informed decisions regarding the vaccines available to them. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:26:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-10ffa5d22c574534897e6e6991b24816 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:26:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj.art-10ffa5d22c574534897e6e6991b248162023-11-17T21:42:58ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2023-04-0111487010.3390/vaccines11040870Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative StudyTaru Silvonen0Jo Kesten1Christie Cabral2Jo Coast3Yoav Ben-Shlomo4Hannah Christensen5Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol BS8 2BN, UKPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol BS8 2BN, UKPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol BS8 2BN, UKHealth Economics Bristol, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1NU, UKThe National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West), University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol BS1 2NT, UKPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol BS8 2BN, UKVaccination reduces the risks related to infectious disease, especially among more vulnerable groups, such as older adults. The vaccines available to older adults in the UK through the government-funded programme currently include influenza, pneumococcal, shingles and COVID-19 vaccines. The purpose of the programme is disease prevention and improving wellbeing among the ageing population. Yet, the target population’s views of the programme remain unknown. This paper aims to increase the understanding of older adults’ perceptions of the vaccination programme available in the UK. A total of 13 online focus groups (56 informants) were carried out for this qualitative study. The findings indicate that getting vaccinated involves personal decision-making processes, which are influenced by previous experiences and interpersonal interactions. Factors related to the wider community and culture are less prominent in explaining vaccination decisions. However, opportunistic vaccination offers, a lack of information and a lack of opportunities to discuss vaccines, especially with healthcare professionals, are prominent factors. The study provides in-depth data about the rationale behind older adults’ vaccination decisions in the UK. We recommend that the provision of information and opportunities to discuss vaccines and infectious disease be improved to enable older adults’ to make better informed decisions regarding the vaccines available to them.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/4/870vaccinationvaccine perceptionsvaccination motivesolder adultsfocus groupsqualitative research |
| spellingShingle | Taru Silvonen Jo Kesten Christie Cabral Jo Coast Yoav Ben-Shlomo Hannah Christensen Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study Vaccines vaccination vaccine perceptions vaccination motives older adults focus groups qualitative research |
| title | Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study |
| title_full | Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study |
| title_fullStr | Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study |
| title_short | Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study |
| title_sort | views and perceptions of people aged 55 on the vaccination programme for older adults in the uk a qualitative study |
| topic | vaccination vaccine perceptions vaccination motives older adults focus groups qualitative research |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/4/870 |
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