Perceived Barriers to Recommended Immunizations in North Central Florida

One goal of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ 2010 National Vaccine Plan is to “Support communications to enhance informed vaccine decision-making”. This goal is supported by the objective to “Increase awareness of vaccines, vaccine-preventable diseases, and the benefits/risks of immunization among the public, providers, and other stakeholders”. In order to develop educational materials that would help support this objective in North Central Florida, a survey was developed to assess the vaccination status of community members, to seek information about their knowledge and attitudes about being vaccinated, and to determine which barriers might need to be overcome for community members to get appropriately immunized with the Human Papillomavirus, Zoster, Td/Tdap, and pneumococcal pneumonia vaccines. This survey was administered by Community Health Workers through a local organization called HealthStreet, which is affiliated with the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Florida. HealthStreet links underserved members of the community to medical and social services with the objective of reducing disparities in research and in healthcare. The 621 surveys completed in the spring of 2013 represent community members who are diverse in age and in racial and ethnic backgrounds. Responses were analyzed overall as well as for groups who fall within the immunization recommendations for each vaccine type. A common theme among responses across each of these vaccine types is the perception that the immunization is not needed because the respondent is currently in good health. Survey responses were used to develop educational materials to be distributed in the community.