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Multicenter Study
. 2021 Aug 23:9:642636.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.642636. eCollection 2021.

Awareness, Attitude, and Current Practices Toward Influenza Vaccination Among Physicians in India: A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Study

Agam Vora  1 , Ashfaque Shaikh  2
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Awareness, Attitude, and Current Practices Toward Influenza Vaccination Among Physicians in India: A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Study

Agam Vora et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Although annual influenza vaccination is recommended for healthcare providers (HCPs), vaccination rate among HCPs in India is generally low. This cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate physicians' awareness, attitude, and current practices toward influenza vaccination in high-risk groups in India. Methods: The survey was performed in June-July 2020, wherein consulting physicians, pulmonologists, diabetologists, obstetricians/gynecologists, or cardiologists across 14 cities completed a 39-item questionnaire consisting of 3 sections, one each on awareness, attitude, and practice patterns. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the study results. Statistical analysis was performed for comparison of subgroups by physician specialty, city of practice (metro/non-metro), and zone of practice (north/south/east/west). Level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: In all, 780 physicians completed the survey. Of these, 3.97, 53.08, and 42.95% had high, medium, and low level of awareness about influenza/influenza vaccination, respectively. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) between-group differences were found by physician specialty and zone of practice. In terms of attitude toward vaccination of high-risk group subjects, only 0.9% physicians were "extremely concerned," while the majority (92.56%) were "quite concerned" and 6.54% were a "little concerned," with no reported significant differences between different subgroups. With regard to practice patterns, 82.82% of physicians offered influenza vaccines to their patients, 32.69% vaccinated 10-25% of patients per month, and 38.85% required and offered the vaccine to their office staff. Physicians' reasons for not prescribing influenza vaccines to patients included fear of side effects (16.54%), cost (15.64%), lack of awareness about availability (15.38%), absence of belief that it is beneficial (14.36%), history of side effects (13.46%), and patients' fear of needles (11.28%). Conclusion: These findings suggest the need to implement educational strategies among physicians to enhance their awareness about influenza vaccination and improve their attitudes and current practices toward influenza vaccination especially in high-risk groups in India.

Keywords: India; attitude; awareness; current practices; healthcare providers; influenza; influenza vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

AS is an employee of Abbott India Limited. The remaining author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overall awareness of physicians. *Indicates P < 0.05. CPs, consulting physician; OBGYN, obstetricians and gynecologists.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overall attitude of physicians. CPs, consulting physician; OBGYN, obstetricians and gynecologists.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Physicians' common reasons for not prescribing influenza vaccine to patients. CPs, consulting physician; OBGYN, obstetricians and gynecologists.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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