Research article
Awareness of vaccination status and its predictors among working people in Switzerland
1 Now at Bundesamt für Gesundheit, Abteilung Sucht und Aids, Hess-Strasse 27e, CH-3097, Liebefeld, Switzerland
2 Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Zurich, Sumatrastrasse 30, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
3 Travel Clinic, Forchstrasse 92, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
BMC Public Health 2003, 3:18 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-3-18
Published: 2 June 2003Abstract
Background
Adult vaccination status may be difficult to obtain, often requiring providers to rely on individual patient recall. To determine vaccination status awareness and the sociodemographic predictors of awareness for tetanus, hepatitis A and B, tick born encephalitis (TBE) and influenza vaccination.
Methods
Multivariate analyses were used to evaluate a questionnaire survey of 10 321 employees (4070 women and 6251 men aged 15–72 years) of two companies in Switzerland.
Results
Among 10 321 respondents, 75.5% reported knowing their tetanus vaccination status, 64.1% hepatitis A, 61.1% hepatitis B, 64.3% TBE and 71.9% influenza. Between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3 employees were not aware of their vaccination status. Differences in awareness for the five vaccinations considered correlated with gender and language. These differences persisted in multivariate analyses.
Conclusion
Women employees, German-speaking employees and employees who paid more attention to their diet were more often aware of their vaccination status. A more reliable and readily accessible data source for vaccination status is needed in order to capitalize on opportunities to update vaccinations among Swiss employees.
