Influenza Vaccination Practices and Perceptions Among Young Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greece-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Influenza Vaccination Practices and Perceptions Among Young Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greece

Published:2024-08-09 Issue:8 Volume:12 Page:904
ISSN:2076-393X
Container-title:Vaccines
language:en
Short-container-title:Vaccines

Author:

Lamprinos Dimitrios¹^ORCID,Vroulou Maria¹,Chatzopoulos Michail¹,Georgakopoulos Panagiotis¹^ORCID,Deligiorgi Paraskevi²,Oikonomou Evangelos²³^ORCID,Siasos Gerasimos²³,Botonis Petros G.⁴,Papavassiliou Kostas A.⁵^ORCID,Papagiannis Dimitrios⁶^ORCID,Pouletidis Theodoros²,Damaskos Christos⁷^ORCID,Rachiotis George⁸,Marinos Georgios⁹^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Emergency Care Department, Laiko General Hospital, 11527 Athens, Greece

2. First Department of Cardiology, Hippokration General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece

3. Third Department of Cardiology, Thoracic Diseases General Hospital Sotiria, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece

4. Department of Sports Medicine and Biology of Exercise, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 17237 Athens, Greece

5. First Department of Respiratory Medicine, “Sotiria” Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece

6. Public Health & Vaccines Laboratory, Department of Nursing, School of Health Science, University of Thessaly, 41500 Volos, Greece

7. N.S. Christeas Laboratory of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece

8. Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larissa, Greece

9. Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece

Abstract

Background: Influenza vaccination among athletes is a crucial area in sports medicine. This descriptive, cross-sectional study aims to explore the vaccination practices and intentions regarding influenza vaccines among young athletes. Methods: A structured, questionnaire-based study was conducted among students from the National School of Sports in Greece. The survey was conducted over the period of April to May 2023. Overall, 138 participants participated in the study. Results: More than half of the participants had received a flu vaccine in the past, but only 12.3% were vaccinated against influenza for 2022–2023. The main reasons seemed to be the lack of time (40.6%) and the idea that influenza does not lead to any serious health threats for the participants (36.2%). The main factor that affected their decision to get the flu vaccine or not was the need for more information regarding influenza vaccination (79%). Conclusions: The recent study showed low vaccination coverage among people of young age participating in sports activities. The qualitative views of the participants highlighted the significance of the lackof a well-organized information program provided by health professionals and coaches.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Link

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/8/904/pdf

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