Vaccination awareness in adult patients at a tertiary care hospital

Kanugula S, Kanakabhushanam GVVS, Sony A, Gomasa M

Pdf Page Numbers :- 206-212

Shivaraju Kanugula^1,*, Kanakabhushanam GVVS², Avirendla Sony¹, and Mahesh Gomasa¹

¹Department of General Medicine, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Minister Road, Secunderabad-500003, Telangana, India

²Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Minister Road, Secunderabad-500003, Telangana, India

*Corresponding author: Dr. Shivaraju Kanugula, Department of General Medicine, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Minister Road, Secunderabad-500003, Telangana, India. Email: shivaraju.doctor@gmail.com

Received 8 May 2024; Revised 19 June 2024; Accepted 24 June 2024; Published 30 June 2024

Citation: Kanugula S, Kanakabhushanam GVVS, Sony A, Gomasa M. Vaccination awareness in adult patients at a tertiary care hospital. J Med Sci Res. 2024; 12(3):206-212. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17727/JMSR.2024/12-39

Copyright: © 2024 Kanugula S et al. Published by KIMS Foundation and Research Center. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Abstract

Background: As global birth rates decline and life expectancies rise, the geriatric population is rapidly increasing. The growing geriatric population worldwide necessitates improved vaccination awareness among older adults to mitigate the increased risk of infectious diseases due to immunosenescence - the gradual deterioration of the immune system with age. The main objective of our study was to create awareness, explain the benefits of adult vaccination and brief about the CDC recommended vaccinations and their schedules.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study conducted for 3 months on outpatient basis through a pamphlet survey in around 150 patients.

Results: 64.6% of patients completed their Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). Secondary level education and out of them 49.3% of them residing in urban areas doesn’t know about adult vaccination.

Conclusion: Findings reveal that patients' decisions are influenced by sociocultural factors, access to information, and misconceptions. The results highlight the importance of targeted immunization programs for older adults and implementing National guidelines in a country like India with highest population can prevent vaccine-preventable diseases, reduce healthcare costs, and improve public health outcomes. Enhanced education and healthcare provider engagement are recommended to address vaccine hesitancy and improve vaccination rates among the elderly, especially in underprivileged communities.

Keywords: adult vaccination; awareness; immunosenescence