Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111543

Delores Dotson, MD¹, Keri Jupka, MPH², Amanda R. Whitworth, BA², Wilhelmina Ross, PA¹, and Ricardo J. Wray, PhD². (1) Health Communication Research Laboratory, Saint Louis Unversity, 3545 Lafayette Street, Saint Louis, MO 63104, 314-977-8166, dotsondc@slu.edu, (2) Health Communication Research Laboratory, School of Public Health, Saint Louis University, 3545 Lafayette Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63104

Every year approximately 36,000 Americans die as a result of influenza, with over 90% of these deaths occurring in individuals over age 65. Despite the existence of an effective vaccine, often available for free, vaccine use rates remain low at 65% on average. Research has shown that vaccine use is substantially lower for African Americans than Caucasians. Fear of getting the flu and other adverse events related to the influenza vaccine have been found to be significant barriers to African Americans receiving vaccination. This CDC-sponsored project sought to gain greater understanding of fears among older African Americans, specifically the fear of becoming ill with the flu due to vaccination. Semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with African Americans over age 50 to explore fears and develop strategies to relieve these fears. Results provided information about past experiences with influenza and the vaccine, beliefs about influenza susceptibility and vaccine effectiveness, and adverse events and safety concerns about the vaccine. Based on formative research, message strategies were developed to address these fears. The messages created for pre-testing with older African Americans are presented.

Learning Objectives:

(
• Identify the barriers older African American adults face when making the decision to receive the influenza vaccine. (
• Discuss methods to address barriers, specifically the fear of becoming ill from the influenza vaccine. (
• Develop message strategies that overcome barriers and promote influenza vaccination.

Keywords: African American, Infectious Diseases

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.