Influenza vaccination among cancer survivors: disparities in prevalence between blacks and whites

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer survivors are at increased risk for influenza-related complications. Racial disparities in preventive health services have not been extensively studied among cancer survivors. Our objective is to compare influenza vaccination prevalence among black and white cancer survivors

Methods: We performed a secondary data analysis of 41,346 white and black cancer survivors (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Respondents were asked whether they had received an influenza vaccination in the previous year. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of having influenza vaccine by race.

Results: Sixty-five percent of whites reported receiving the vaccine in the last year compared to 50 % of blacks. Blacks had significantly lower odds of vaccination after controlling for covariates significantly associated with the odds of influenza vaccination. Higher education, having health insurance, having a primary care provider, and having a routine check-up in the last year increased the odds of receiving an influenza vaccine.

Conclusions: Our analysis supports that racial disparities in vaccine coverage persist among cancer survivors, a group strongly recommended to receive annual influenza vaccine, even when predictors significantly associated with increased vaccination are controlled for.

Implications for cancer survivors: As a nationally representative survey with a large sample size, our study provides a picture of self-reported vaccine coverage among cancer survivors in the USA and the disparity that exists between blacks and whites in this population. Care teams can use these findings to better target follow-up care for cancer survivors.

Fig. 1. Cancer survivor respondents to the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Questionnaire

Fig. 2. Adjusted odds of influenza vaccination among black cancer survivor respondents compared to white cancer survivor respondents to the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Questionnaire by age group (n=38,921)