Knowledge, attitudes and practices of some family practitioners about influenza vaccine

This study was carried out to evaluate the attitudes, knowledge and practices of some family physicians about influenza vaccines in Turkey, and to examine the relationship of their attitudes with their demographic characteristics and also the effect on vaccine recommendation. It is a descriptive epidemiological study. Family physicians who work actively in primary care in different regions of Turkey and who agreed to participate in the study on a voluntary basis were included in the study. The data collection form was sent to the family physicians via e-mail. The form consists of questions about sociodemographic characteristics, experience and workload, experiences with vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases, influenza vaccination behaviors, and the "Health Belief Model Scale for Prevention from Influenza" adapted to Turkey. During the data collection process, 388 family physicians were reached and 377 family physicians were included in the analysis. Participation was obtained from all geographical regions according to the 5 Region classification of Turkey, 53% from the western region. 63.5% had a history of patients with a vaccine-preventable disease in the last five years, 14.6% had a history of serious illness that may be associated with influenza, and 41.5% had received the flu vaccine regularly for the last 5 years. season made. 42.7% of the participants in the study definitely recommend influenza vaccination to their patients in the risk group and take time to convince their reluctant patients. Family physicians who have been regularly vaccinated for the last 5 years have higher score of Health Belief Model Scale on Preventation of İnfluenza in all subgroups and overall scale scores, and these physicians strongly recommend influenza vaccination to their patients, and ensure that their family members also receive regular influenza vaccination. Individual experiences influence the decision to get the flu vaccine and health beliefs about protection from the flu. Health beliefs, rather than knowledge, affect family physicians' flu vaccination behavior.