Influenza vaccination in old adults in Spain.

Background: to describe population patterns of influenza vaccination, and to analyse the effect of a set of demographic, socio-economic status, lifestyles, health status, and health services variables, on the likelihood of being vaccinated in the those > or = 65 years.

Methods: Cross-sectional study. From the 1997 National Health Survey those > or = 65 years old were selected. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated through multiple logistic regression models, reporting having an influenza vaccination last season as a dependent variable.

Results: A total sample of 1148 was analysed: 51.3% of subjects reported having received a vaccination last year. Adjusted odds ratios showed that the risk of not having been vaccinated was higher for people from 65-69 years (OR: 1.70; 95% CI [1.32-2.19]), women (OR: 1.48; 95% CI [1.14-1.92]), residents in cities of more than 1 million inhabitants (OR: 1.74; 95% CI [1.12-2.70]), smokers (OR: 1.92; 95% CI [1.24-2.96]), having high-risk chronic conditions (OR: 1.41; 95% CI [1.08-1.85]), and for those whose last physician visit was between 2 weeks and 6 months ago (OR: 1.40; 95% CI [1.07-1.85]), and more than 6 months ago (OR: 2.13; 95% CI [1.52-2.98]).

Conclusion: Influenza vaccination levels are sub-optimal. Factors that have been identified as barriers to receiving this effective intervention are: younger age, female sex, less contact with the health care system, smokers, and not having high-risk chronic conditions. No effect was found for socio-economic status or variables related with health, functional status or other health-related behaviours. This study may contribute to identifying population groups who could be targeted for health promotion interventions aimed to improve their influenza vaccination uptake.