Caregivers of the elderly are advised to be vaccinated against influenza. Data on access and adherence to flu vaccination campaigns were gathered in a research aiming at measuring the degree of health literacy (HL) among a sample of non-familial caregivers in the Florence Health District. The sample consists of 47 paid non-family caregivers. Researchers gathered data on socio-demographic factors, services offered, and daily work hours, as well as whether or not influenza vaccine was delivered during the 2016/2017 season and the preceding three years. The Newest Vital Sign was used to determine the degree of HL. Over the previous four years, 63.8 percent of non-familial caregivers have not participated in flu campaigns, 14.9 percent have been vaccinated very often, and 21.3 percent have received a flu vaccine in all seasons studied. The majority of non-familial carers who do not get vaccinated do not believe they are in close touch with a vulnerable person; those who obtain the vaccination on a regular basis indicated wanting to safeguard the helped person as reason for vaccine uptake.
Adherence to anti-flu vaccination programs among these homecare personnel has been low. The degree of coverage does not appear to be connected to the HL level. To avoid significant repercussions on senior individuals with higher risk of comorbidity and frailty, it is suitable to encourage widespread flu vaccination among family caregivers by actively giving the immunization in appropriate forms, places, and times.
Reference: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2019.1593726
