Is getting influenza vaccine coverage data out during mid-season feasible? Evidence from a national survey of U.S. adults

Social and psychological factors underlying adult vaccination behavior: lessons from seasonal influenza vaccination in the US and the UK

This article reviews the evidence base on the social and psychological factors that facilitate or hinder vaccination among adults. The authors categorized these factors into eight themes: social influence, disease-related factors, vaccine-related factors, habit, general attitudes toward health and vaccines, awareness and knowledge, practical barriers and motivators and altruism. Although there were many commonalities between both settings, the authors also indentifiedimportant differences. A better understanding of social and psychological aspects of vaccination across contexts and vaccines remains a priority.

Deriving behavior model parameters from survey data: self-protective behavior adoption during the 2009-2010 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic

In this paper, we demonstrate how public opinion surveys can be designed to collect information pertinent to computational behavior modeling, and we present the results of a public opinion and behavior survey conducted during the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza pandemic. The results are used to parameterize the Health Belief Model of individual health-protective decision making. Survey subjects were asked questions about their perceptions of the then-circulating influenza and attitudes towards two personal protective behaviors: vaccination and avoidance of crowds. We empirically address two important issues in applying the Health Belief Model of behavior to computational infectious disease simulation: (1) the factors dynamically influencing the states of the Health Belief Model variables and (2) the appropriateness of the Health Belief Model in describing self-protective behavior in the context of pandemic influenza.

From the patient perspective: the economic value of seasonal and H1N1 influenza vaccination

Although studies have suggested that a patient's perceived cost-benefit of a medical intervention could affect his or her utilization of the intervention, the economic value of influenza vaccine from the patient's perspective remains unclear. Therefore, we developed a stochastic decision analytic computer model representing an adult's decision of whether to get vaccinated. Different scenarios explored the impact of the patient being insured versus uninsured, influenza attack rate, vaccine administration costs and vaccination time costs. Results indicated that the cost of avoiding influenza was fairly low (with one driver being required vaccination time). To encourage vaccination, decision makers may want to focus on ways to reduce this time, such as vaccinating at work, churches, or other normally frequented locations.