Vaccination coverage and related factors among the elderly: A cross-sectional study from Turkey

Objective: The study was conducted to determine the vaccination rates and related factors among the elderly. Design: Cross-sectional study. Sample: This study was conducted with 984 elderly people living in a province in western Turkey. Measurements: The single-stage cluster sampling method was used in the sample selection. The descriptive statistics, the chi-square analysis, the Mann–Whitney U test and the logistic regression analysis for the multivariate analysis were used to evaluate the data. Results: It was determined that 45.6% of the elderly were vaccinated after the age of 65 and the most frequently administered vaccines were influenza (41.3%), pneumococcal (10.9%), and tetanus (5.5%) vaccines. Higher vaccination rates were determined in the following demographics, namely by 1.8-fold (95% CI, 1.4–2.4) in those living in urban areas, by 2.6-fold (95% CI, 1.8–3.9) in those with high school or higher education, by 1.5-fold (95% CI, 1.0–2.5) in those who did not work, by 1.7-fold (95% CI, 1.3–2.3) in those with chronic diseases and by 2-fold (95% CI, 1.1–3.4) in those who fulfilled their physical own needs themselves. Conclusion: This study showed that more than half of the elderly did not receive any vaccinations in old age. The vaccination rates of the elderly were associated with many factors.