Study of Public Awareness of Influenza Immunoprophylaxis

Influenza is a serious disease that can provoke exacerbation of chronic diseases and cause life-threatening complications, including pneumonia, bronchitis and, in some cases, inflammation of the brain. The most susceptible to these serious complications are individuals who are in high-risk groups, namely: the elderly persons – over 65 years old, pregnant women, children, and individuals with chronic diseases. The objectives: to analyze the coverage of influenza vaccination of risk groups in Ukraine and the population’s awareness of specific disease prevention. Materials and methods. The study of the population awareness level of specific influenza prevention, and its influence factors was conducted among the population in Shyshatsky united territorial community in the Myrhorod district of the Poltava region by surveying 100 respondents aged 18 to 76 years (average age - 38.40 ± 1.38 years). Among the respondents there were 26 men and 74 women. The survey was conducted in September-October 2023, before the start of the 2023/2024 influenza and acute respiratory viral infection epidemic season, by filling out Google Forms, which were distributed via mobile devices and social networks Facebook and Telegram. The statistical analysis of the data was carried out using mathematical statistics methods – Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and the Statistica 17.0 program (StatSoft Inc., USA). Results. During the epidemic seasons from 2017/2018 to 2022/2023 the level of influenza vaccination coverage was low, about 0.5% of the population of Ukraine in general and 0.9–1.6% of people from medical and epidemic risk groups were vaccinated. The survey results revealed insufficient awareness of the population of the Shyshak territorial community regarding specific influenza prevention. A quarter (22.0%) of respondents had a “negative” attitude towards vaccination, 54.0% of persons had a misconception about its main purpose, only 38.0% of individuals considered it the most effective method of preventing complications, and 32.0% of persons planned to get vaccinated before the epidemic season. Among people over 60 years old, 62.5% had never been vaccinated. At the same time, 25.0% of people considered vaccination the most effective way to prevent the disease. The majority (71.4%) of respondents aged 18–24 years were undecided about their attitude towards influenza vaccination, and only 35.0% of respondents discussed the influenza vaccination with their family doctor. Conclusions. The level of influenza vaccination coverage of the population of Ukraine in general and risk groups in particular during the epidemic seasons from 2017/2018 to 2022/2023 was low. It was established that the population of the Shyshak territorial community is not sufficiently aware of specific influenza prevention issues, which indicates the need to improve the quality of sanitary and educational work and train qualified personnel for this among medical specialists. Providing the vaccine at the state expense would allow 37.0% of respondents to change their decision in favor of vaccination.