Cross-Sectional Study on Attitudes among General Practitioners towards Pneumococcal Vaccination for Middle-Aged and Elderly Population in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVE: To study the attitudes among general practitioners towards pneumococcal vaccination for middle-aged (50–64) and elderly population (over 65) in Hong Kong and the factors affecting their decision to advise pneumococcal vaccination for those age groups. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of general practitioners in private practice in Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS: Members of Hong Kong Medical Association delivering general practice services in private sector. MEASURING TOOL: Self-administered questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intention to recommend pneumococcal vaccination, barriers against pneumococcal vaccination. RESULTS: 53.4% of the respondents would actively recommend pneumococcal vaccination to elderly patients but only 18.8% would recommend for middle-aged patients. Consultation not related to pneumococcal vaccine was the main reason for not recommending pneumococcal vaccine (43.6%). Rarity of pneumonia in their daily practice was another reason with 68.4% of respondents attending five or less patients with pneumonia each year. In multivariate analysis, factors such as respondents would get vaccination when reaching age 50 (OR(m) 10.1), and attending 6 pneumonia cases or more per year (OR(m) 2.28) were found to be associated with increasing likelihood for recommending vaccination to the middle-aged. While concerns of marketing a product (OR(m) 0.41), consultation not related to vaccination (OR(m) 0.45) and limited time (OR(m) 0.38) were factors that reduced the likelihood. CONCLUSION: Public policy is needed to increase the awareness of impact of pneumococcal pneumonia and the availability of preventive measures.