Influenza vaccination in Europe: an inventory of strategies to reach target populations and optimise vaccination uptake

M Kroneman; W J Paget; G A van Essen

doi:10.2807/esm.08.06.00418-en

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Influenza vaccination in Europe: an inventory of strategies to reach target populations and optimise vaccination uptake
M Kroneman¹ , W J Paget² , G A van Essen³
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Affiliations: ¹ NIVEL, Utrecht, The Netherlands ² European Influenza Surveillance Scheme (EISS) coordination centre, NIVEL, Utrecht, The Netherlands ³ European Scientific Working group on Influenza (ESWI), Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, Utrecht, The Netherlands

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Citation style for this article: M Kroneman, W J Paget, G A van Essen. Influenza vaccination in Europe: an inventory of strategies to reach target populations and optimise vaccination uptake. Euro Surveill. 2003;8(6):pii=418. https://doi.org/10.2807/esm.08.06.00418-en

Abstract

A study was undertaken to assess influenza vaccine uptake in risk groups and to get insight into vaccination practices in European countries. Questionnaires were completed by national influenza experts from 26 coun-tries. Only 14 were able to provide uptake rates for the elderly. For the other risk groups, even fewer could provide data. Vaccines are usually administred by GPs. Financial incentives for physicians and patients might work as a strategy to increase uptake rates, but due to the small amount of data, it was not possible to carry out thorough multivariate analyses. The development of a uniform influenza vaccination monitoring method was recommended to allow for comparision of uptake data in Europe.