Adults' Vaccination in Argentina: First-Ever Assessment of Compliance Through A Nationwide Survey

Abstract

Background. In the last years, Argentina made a shift in its vaccination policy to a "family immunization strategy" that also includes adults' vaccination. Still, assessing compliance in this group remains a challenge. Our objective was to assess use of adults' vaccines (UAV) in Argentina. Methods. The National Risk Factors Survey (NRFS) evaluates risk factors and prevalence of main non-transmissible diseases in people >18 years old that live in >5000 inhabitants towns over the 24 provinces. The sample design is probabilistic and multistage. Last survey, in 2013, added a vaccination module where people interviewed self-reported the use of four vaccines included in the national calendar, in the past 5 years: hepatitis B (HB), tetanus (T), influenza (I) and pneumococcus (P) vaccines. When analyzing HB and T use all respondents were included while in the case of I and P use only individuals with risk factors or >65 years old were considered. UAV was also stratified by gender, age, educational level and income's quintile. Survey also asked about vaccination information sources. Statistical significance was assessed comparing 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Sampling errors were calculated with SPSS Complex Samples module. Results. A total of 32,365 individuals were surveyed. Global UAV is shown in Table 1. Significant differences in UAV associated to educational level or income quintiles were not observed. Older people reported the least use of T (18-24 years old: 56.8%; 95% CI 53.5-60.0 versus >64 years old: 38%; 95% CI 35.4-40.7) and HB vaccine (18-24 years old: 38%; 95% CI 35.1-41.0 versus >64 years old: 8.5%; 95% CI 7.4-9.9). Use of I and N vaccines is shown in Table 2. A total of 70.8% of respondents reported having seen or heard about adult vaccines through any media and 27.9% through a health professional. Conclusion. The global UAV was low and not related to inequity issues in this study. Age related differences in UAV observed could be explained by discrepancies in risk perception, personal appreciation of diseases, medical care demand, media broadcasting, etc. Findings also stress the need of engaging healthcare professionals with adult vaccination and the relevance of mass media to promulgate it. This survey is a useful tool to identify factors associated to low VC, propose new strategies and call for key partners to instrument them. (Table Presented) .