Open AccessEducational Content and the Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccination Reminders
Author(s) -
Armstrong Katrina,
Berlin Michelle,
Schwartz J. Sanford,
Propert Kathleen,
Ubel Peter A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of general internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.746
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 1525-1497
pISSN - 0884-8734
DOI - 10.1046/j.1525-1497.1999.11098.x
Subject(s) - medicine , vaccination , family medicine , medline , influenza vaccine , virology , political science , law
OBJECTIVE: To determine if a mailed patient education brochure (addressing demonstrated reasons for vaccination refusal) would result in a higher rate of influenza vaccination than a mailed postcard reminder without educational content. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Urban, predominantly African‐American, low‐income community. PARTICIPANTS: There were 740 community‐dwelling individuals aged 65 years and older in the study. MEASUREMENTS: Receipt of influenza vaccination and beliefs about influenza and influenza vaccination were measured by telephone survey self‐report. MAIN RESULTS: We successfully contacted 202 individuals (69.9%) who received the postcard reminder and 229 individuals (71.1%) who received the educational brochure. People receiving the educational brochure were more likely to report influenza vaccination during the previous vaccination season than those who received the postcard reminder (66.4% vs 56.9%, p = .04). They also reported more interest in influenza vaccination in the coming year. (66.5% vs 57.1%, p = .05). CONCLUSIONS: A mailed educational brochure is more effective than a simple reminder in increasing influenza vaccination rates among inner‐city, elderly patients.