Abstract
Objective
Primary health providers serve an important role in providing and promoting annual influenza immunization to high-risk groups and their close contacts. The purpose of this analysis was to determine whether consultation with a medical professional increases the likelihood of receiving a flu shot among women who have given birth in the past five years and to determine whether this association differs by type of medical professional.
Methods
Data were obtained from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2005), Cycle 3.1. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between receiving a flu shot in the past 12 months and consulting with family doctors, specialists, nurses, chiropractors, or homeopaths/naturopaths.
Results
Among the 6,925 women included in our sample, 1,847 (28.4%) reported receiving a flu shot in the past 12 months. After adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics and province of residence, women who received flu shots in the past 12 months were significantly more likely to consult with a family doctor (AOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.34–1.83) and significantly less likely to consult with a chiropractor (AOR 0.76, 95% CI 0.64–0.90) or a homeopath/naturopath (AOR 0.72, 95% CI 0.54–0.97) over the same time period.
Conclusion
Consultation with family doctors was found to have the strongest association with annual flu shots among women in contact with young children, whereas consultation with alternative care providers was found to have an independent inverse association. Given the influenza-associated health risks for young children, medical professionals should promote immunization at the time of consultation for household contacts of young children, including pregnant women.
Keywords: Influenza, human, immunization, women, health care, utilization
Résumé
Objectifs
Les dispensateurs de soins de santé primaires jouent un rôle important dans la promotion du vaccin annuel contre la grippe et son administration aux groupes très à risque et à leurs proches. Nous avons cherché à déterminer si le fait de consulter un professionnel de la santé augmentait la probabilité de se faire vacciner contre la grippe pour les femmes ayant accouché au cours des cinq années précédentes, et si cette association différait selon le type de professionnel de la santé.
Méthode
Nos données proviennent de l’Enquête sur la santé dans les collectivités canadiennes (2005), Cycle 3.1. Par régression logistique, nous avons analysé l’association entre la vaccination contre la grippe au cours des 12 mois précédents et la consultation d’un médecin de famille, d’un spécialiste, d’une infirmière, d’un chiropraticien ou d’un homéopathe/naturopathe.
Résultats
Sur les 6 925 femmes de l’échantillon, 1 847 (28,4%) ont dit avoir reçu le vaccin contre la grippe au cours des 12 mois précédents. En tenant compte du profil sociodémographique et de la province de résidence, les femmes vaccinées contre la grippe au cours des 12 mois précédents étaient de manière significative plus susceptibles d’avoir consulté un médecin de famille (RCa 1,56, IC 95% 1,34–1,83) et significativement moins susceptibles d’avoir consulté un chiropraticien (RCa 0,76, IC 95% 0,64–0,90) ou un homéopathe/naturopathe (RCa 0,72, IC 95% 0,54–0,97) durant la même période.
Conclusion
La consultation d’un médecin de famille présentait la plus forte association avec le vaccin annuel contre la grippe chez les femmes en contact avec de jeunes enfants, tandis que la consultation de praticiens de médecines parallèles présentait une association inverse indépendante. Étant donné les risques associés à la grippe chez les jeunes enfants, les professionnels de la santé devraient promouvoir la vaccination lors des consultations avec les contacts familiaux de jeunes enfants, y compris les femmes enceintes.
Motsclés: grippe, humain, immunisation, femmes, utilisation des soins de santé
Footnotes
Acknowledgements: Ms. Chambers is recipient of a Fredrick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). She is also a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) Junior Graduate Trainee and a CIHR/MSFHR Bridge Strategic Training Fellow. Dr. Koehoorn was supported in part by a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Senior Scholar Award.
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
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