Elderly African-Americans and the XXXX vaccine: the impact of the primary care physician.

@entity1 @entity683 @entity566
BACKGROUND: Despite recommendations for annual vaccinations against @entity683 , many older African-Americans do not receive this vaccine. For 1 month in our private medical offices, we conducted a survey to estimate the vaccination rate for our practice, the reasons why older African-Americans declined to be vaccinated, and any impact we could make on their misconceptions about its safety and efficacy. SETTING: The study was conducted in a three-physician private practice of geriatric/internal medicine in the borough of Queens, New York. @entity1 : 231 consecutive community-residing @entity1 aged 65 or older were evaluated starting in October 1999. METHODS: A total of 231 @entity1 aged 65 to 96 were given a questionnaire asking if they planned to or had already received the @entity683 vaccine for the 1999-2000 season. Those who had no intention of taking the vaccine were asked why. Categories included: Vaccine not recommended/not recommended strongly enough, vaccine has no benefit, I became ill after being vaccinated, too afraid, I heard it makes @entity1 sick, no special reason, @entity566 to eggs, never had the flu. Those who refused had a brief discussion with their physician and it was noted whether they agreed later to be vaccinated. Ten @entity1 who were not black were excluded. RESULTS: Forty-four percent (98/221) of @entity1 intended to be vaccinated before discussion with their physician. After discussion with their physician about potential side effects, efficacy,safety, the percentage rose to 63% (139/221). This compares favorably with the national health objective of 60% or greater for the year 2000 in this population. CONCLUSIONS: The primary care physician had a significant impact on the increase of the @entity683 vaccination rate among older African-Americans in our study from 44 to 63%.
