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. 2023 Apr 20;11(4):870.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines11040870.

Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study

Taru Silvonen  1 , Jo Kesten  1   2   3 , Christie Cabral  1 , Jo Coast  4 , Yoav Ben-Shlomo  2   3 , Hannah Christensen  1
Affiliations

Views and Perceptions of People Aged 55+ on the Vaccination Programme for Older Adults in the UK: A Qualitative Study

Taru Silvonen et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; focus groups; influenza; older adults; pneumococcal; qualitative research; shingles; vaccination; vaccination motives; vaccine perceptions.

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Conflict of interest statement

J.C. has a role as non-executive director for One Gloucestershire Integrated Care System. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest. The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Four main groups of themes.
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