Adequacy of information provided by healthcare professionals on vaccines: Results of a population survey in Spain.

Abstract

To describe the population who self-reported perceiving information on vaccines provided by health professionals as inadequate, and to analyze factors associated. A Spanish nationwide representative health survey conducted in individuals ≥18 in 2015 (N = 7 800) was used. Respondents were classified according to the question: 'Do you think that health professionals inform adequately to patients about the advantages and risks of vaccines prior to their administration? (yes/no/non-responders). The association with socio-demographic and health-related characteristics and with opinions/attitudes regarding vaccines were analyzed. 33.7% of respondents felt not adequately informed. These individuals had lower influenza vaccination coverage (16.0% vs. 24.1%), and were more distrustful of vaccines in general (8.4% vs. 3.3%) as well as regarding on the influenza vaccine (11.9% vs. 7.6%). Inadequate information was associated with female gender (aOR:1.21,95%CI:1.08-1.35), autochthonous origin (aOR:1.54,95%CI:1.27--1.87), household income ≤600€/month (aOR:1.45,95%CI:1.10-1.91), poor self-perceived health (aOR:3.17,95%CI:1.36-7.39), and a lower satisfaction with the National Health Service and nurses (aOR:0.92,95%CI:0.89-0.95 and aOR:0.85,95%CI:0.82-0.88). A large proportion of the population considers that the information provided regarding vaccines is inadequate. This perception is associated with negative attitudes towards vaccination. Further studies are required to deepen our understanding of the problem and to enhance communication provided by healthcare professionals.