Influenza vaccine awareness and uptake patterns among women of reproductive age in Pudong New Area: A community-based cross-sectional study.
The World Health Organization prioritizes pregnant women for influenza vaccination; in China, flu vaccination during pregnancy has not been widely adopted. This gap is due to a lack of targeted policies and limited public health promotion. We aimed to describe knowledge and attitudes toward seasonal influenza vaccination among women of reproductive age (15-49 y old) (WRA), to inform evidence-based policy interventions. A cross-sectional survey assessed WRA's influenza and vaccine awareness, vaccination route preference, and influencing factors, analyzed via chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression. The knowledge score among WRA in Shanghai Pudong was 3.77 ± 1.23, and the influenza vaccine knowledge score was 3.55 ± 1.66; the pass rates were 60.61% and 56.46%, respectively. Healthcare workers had the highest cognitive levels. Multivariate analysis indicated that education level and being a healthcare professional were predictors of the influenza vaccine pass rate. In particular, the preference for injection decreased sharply from 41.25% among non-pregnant women to 13.31% in the hypothetical pregnancy scenario. In comparison, nasal spray preference rose from 10.60% to 23.17%, and unwillingness increased from 10.19% to 35.58% (P < .05). Pregnant women preferred the nasal spray at 41.67%, a rate significantly higher than that of non-pregnant women (10.60%, P < .05). When receiving influenza vaccine recommendations, 87.63% of participants were more inclined to follow the advice of obstetricians and gynecologists. While WRA in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, demonstrates a relatively high level of attention to influenza and influenza vaccines, key gaps still exist. Strengthening obstetricians' guidance, promoting non-injectable influenza vaccines, and delivering targeted health education are important strategies to improve vaccination uptake in this population.
Authors
Liu Liu, Min Min, Cai Cai, Ren Ren, Hu Hu, Shen Shen, Niu Niu, Liu Liu, Wang Wang, Chen Chen, Zhang Zhang, Wang Wang, Ji Ji, Zhou Zhou, Zhang Zhang, Xue Xue
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