Poverty and Influenza/Pneumococcus Vaccinations in Older People: Data from The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) Study

Abstract

Vaccine acceptance seems to be lower in poor people. The determinants of the lower vaccine coverage in poor people are not established. Therefore, we aimed to explore the association between poverty and influenza/pneumococcus vaccinations and the factors potentially associated with vaccination’s coverage in poor people. The data of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), an ongoing longitudinal, multi-disciplinary, and cross-national European study where used. Poverty was defined using information on income and household size. Among 47,370 participants initially included in the SHARE study, 12,442 were considered poor. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, “Household size” was associated with a significantly lower vaccination probability, meanwhile “Age”, “Years of education”, “Regularly taking prescription drugs”, and the level of income were significantly associated with higher probabilities of both influenza and pneumonia vaccinations. The “Number of illnesses/health conditions” was significantly associated with a higher probability of getting vaccination against influenza and against pneumococcus. In conclusion, among poor older people, several specific factors could be identified as barriers for the vaccinations against influenza or pneumococcus that are unique to this segment of the population, such as living with the family and having a job.