Attitude Toward and Intention to Receive Influenza Vaccination Among Pregnant Women

Kang, Hee Sun

Wednesday, July 13, 2011: 8:30 AM

Hee Sun Kang, PhD
Department of nursing, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea

Learning Objective 1: Enable learners to describe the concerns related to influenza vaccination among pregnant women.

Learning Objective 2: Enable learners to identify the factors related to influenza vaccination in pregnant women.

Purpose: Pregnant women are among the groups recommended to receive the influenza vaccine. However, the rate of influenza vaccination among pregnant women is low, even though this vaccine is believed to be safe for both pregnant and breastfeeding women. This study aims to explore the attitude toward and intention to receive the influenza vaccine and the relationship of these two factors among pregnant women.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational and comparative study was conducted with a convenience sample of 313 pregnant Korean women. Data were collected from the participants through self-report questionnaires administered from October 21 to November 26, 2010.

Results: The participants were 313 pregnant women. The mean scores of attitude and intention were 2.98 (range 1 to 5), and 3.42 (range 1 to 5) respectively. Participants who displayed a more positive attitude toward influenza vaccination had greater intention to receive it during pregnancy. There were significant differences in attitude between women who had received the influenza vaccine and those who had not this year. Participants’ intention to receive the influenza vaccine was greater if recommended by the clinician compared to friend or family members.

Conclusion: This study recommends that efforts be made to provide education on vaccination to pregnant women in order to increase awareness of and minimize the barriers to vaccination. Furthermore, educational programs should be designed in order to promote more positive attitude toward influenza vaccination. Proactive recommendation of the influenza vaccine by clinicians would increase the incidence of vaccination during pregnancy.

See more of: Promoting Health in Pregnant Women
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