The Ministry of Health recommends the influenza vaccine to protect New Zealanders against the influenza virus. In the Health Promotion Agency’s 2012 Health and Lifestyles Survey, we asked New Zealanders aged 15 years and over about their uptake of, and attitudes toward, the influenza vaccine. It is important to understand the factors that contribute to people taking up the influenza vaccine to aid the development of effective health promotion strategies that will maximise influenza immunisation rates and minimise the spread of the disease.
Methodology
All respondents in the 2012 HLS were asked three questions relating to the influenza vaccine: whether they were eligible to get the vaccine for free, whether their work pays for staff to get the vaccine, and whether they will receive the vaccine in 2012. Respondents who said that they were not going to receive the vaccine in 2012 were also asked to give reasons for their decision. Interviews were conducted between autumn and winter (May to August) 2012.
To understand how uptake of the influenza vaccine varied between groups, we compared rates of receiving the vaccine by age, gender, ethnicity, neighbourhood deprivation status, perceived eligibility for the free vaccine, and employer subsidy of the vaccine. Statistically significant differences (p < .05) are reported.
Key Results
- Nearly half of New Zealanders aged 15 years and over thought that they were eligible to get the influenza vaccine for free in 2012, yet only one-third had already received the vaccine at the time they were surveyed (between autumn and winter 2012).
- Of respondents who were employed, most said that their employers did not pay for the influenza vaccine for staff.
- People whose employers paid for the vaccine were no more likely to have received the vaccine than people whose employers did not pay or people who did not know whether their employer paid.
- People more likely to have received the influenza vaccine if they thought they were eligible to receive the vaccine for free, were aged 65 years and over, or were non-Māori.
- The most frequently reported reasons for not intending to get the influenza vaccine were related to not feeling the need to (eg, "I never get the flu", "I’m in good health so don’t need it").