ADHERENCE TO INFLUENZA VACCINATION AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS DURING AND AFTER INFLUENZA A (H1N1) PANDEMIC

This study evaluated the adherence to influenza vaccination among medical students in 2010 and 2011. From August to December 2011, a questionnaire was used to record the influenza vaccination in 2010 and 2011, reasons for acceptance of the influenza vaccine and knowledge of healthcare workers about the influenza vaccine recommendation. One hundred and forty-four students from the 2(nd)to the 6(th) years of the medical school were interviewed. A great adherence to pandemic influenza vaccine was noted in 2010, (91% of the students), with "self-protection" being the most common reason cited for vaccination. Other determinants for the vaccination during pandemic were "convenient access to vaccine" and "encouragement by peers and teachers in workplaces and at the university". However, there was a great decay in the acceptance to vaccine in the next influenza season (2011). Only 42% of the students received the vaccine. They claimed "lack of time" and "have forgotten to take the vaccine" as the main reasons. The "knowledge on the recommendation of influenza vaccine to healthcare workers" increased when the students come to attend the last year of the medical school, but that was an insufficient motivator for vaccination. Strategies to increase vaccination should be based on the abovementioned aspects for the adoption of effective measures in both, pandemic and seasonal periods.