Elderly individuals with chronic illnesses are more prone to get influenza. We aimed to investigate the factors associated with influenza coverage and willingness in chronic disease patients aged ≥60 years in Longhua district, Shenzhen City of southern China. Data collected in October 2020 were used in this work. The immunization status of older persons with chronic conditions and their willingness to receive the vaccine were assessed. Multivariable logistic regression was employed to determine the respective independent factors related to vaccination coverage and willingness for influenza. Only 4.8% of 5045 people were immunized against influenza, whereas 92.7% of the individuals agreed to receive the vaccine. Individuals between the ages of 70 and 79 (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.47, P = .012), those with higher education levels (aOR 1.53, P = .005 for high school; aOR 2.44, P < .001 for college or above), those who use of a family doctor (aOR 2.91, P < .001), those who frequently have physical examinations once a year (aOR 2.52, P < .001), and those who have never smoked (aOR 1.62, P = .018) were positively associated with the influenza vaccination. Meanwhile, older age was adversely linked with influenza vaccination willingness (aOR 0.68 for 70–79 years, P = .003; aOR 0.55 for≥80 years, P = .025) in contrast to those aged 60–69. High willingness to get vaccinated was more frequent in people with a high school diploma (aOR 1.33, P = .037). In this work, we observed that the coverage is poor but the immunization desire is high regarding influenza vaccination. Interestingly, older age was associated with higher coverage and lower willingness. These suggest that raising immunization rates among older people with chronic conditions and strengthening health education for caregivers should be the primary concerns.
Background:Adequate understanding and precautionary behaviors are of vital importance to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To date, the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19 among different populations have been reported, whereas such information is unavailable in teachers. We aimed to investigate the KAP of teachers associated with COVID-19 during the global outbreak.Methods:A large-scale population-based survey was conducted to gather information on COVID-19-related KAP among Chinese teachers using a self-administered questionnaire. We received 10,658 responses in April 2020, out of which 8,248 were enrolled in the final analysis. Participants responded to a self-administered questionnaire concerning demographic characteristics and KAP associated with COVID-19.Results:This work included 4,252 (51.6%) teachers in kindergartens, 2,644 (32.1%) teachers in primary schools, and 1,352 (16.4%) teachers in secondary schools. The knowledge level (mean: 4.46 out of seven points) was relatively lower than the levels of attitudes (mean: 3.27 out of four points) and practices (mean: 4.29 out of five points) toward COVID-19. Knowledge scores significantly varied by the collected demographic variables except education worksite (p< 0.05), whereas practice scores significantly differed in age groups (p< 0.05), education level (p< 0.001), education worksite (p< 0.001), and years of teaching (p< 0.001). The multivariate logistic analysis indicated that poor knowledge related to COVID-19 was common among men, younger, and less-educated teachers. In contrast, female teachers and those with higher education levels tend to have good practices against COVID-19.Conclusion:The present work suggested the knowledge gaps regarding COVID-19 were needed to be corrected immediately in teachers. Given the critical role of teachers in the education system, health authorities should take gender, age, and education level into account when developing suitable health interventions.
25 April 2022 in Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
Given the high level of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, cold-chain workers are considered priority vaccination groups. To date, many studies have reported on the willingness within distinct populations to be vaccinated against COVID-19, whereas it has not been reported among cold-chain workers worldwide. To address this void, we conducted a cross-sectional survey to gather general information, COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP), and willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine among cold-chain workers in Shenzhen, China. Binary logistic analyses were conducted to explore the associations between COVID-19-related KAP factors and the willingness for COVID-19 vaccination. Among 244 cold-chain workers, 76% indicated that they were willing to be vaccinated. Knowledge about SARS-CoV-2, comprehending the most effective prevention, understanding the transmission routes, and recognizing the priority vaccination groups were positively associated with willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Regarding attitude factors, perceiving the social harmfulness and severity of COVID-19 were related to a higher willingness to vaccination. Participants considering themselves a priority group for COVID-19 vaccination were more likely to get vaccinated. For practice factors, attaining more knowledge and higher self-reported compliance with maintaining adequate ventilation were also positively associated with the dependent variable. Agreement on the importance of COVID-19 vaccination was the most frequent reason for accepting the COVID-19 vaccine; additionally, concerns about side effects and insufficient understanding of efficacy were the main factors contributing to vaccine refusal. Enhancing KAP levels related to COVID-19 helps promote vaccine acceptance. Health authorities should promptly implement educational activities following the updated vaccine status among cold-chain workers.