A survey of public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards the seasonal influenza vaccine in North Macedonia

Introduction: Vaccination against seasonal influenza is the most effective way to prevent infections, hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of the North Macedonia adult population towards seasonal influenza vaccine. Materials and methods:A prospective cross-sectional study in November-December 2022 among the adult population of North Macedonia was conducted. A total of 1012 respondents filled in the 4-item semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire collected information on de-mographics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards the influenza vaccine. The chi-square test was used to test for associations and logistic regression was used to determine the effect of variables on the possibility of vaccination. Results and discussion: The median age of the respondents was 36 years, predominantly female (73.5%). Only 7.8% of respondents received the influenza vaccine in the previous season (2021/2022) and 12.4% planned to vaccinate in the current season. A statistically significant difference between the vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals was established in terms of age groups and the presence of comorbidity (chi 2=11.246, p=0.004). The vaccinated respondents significantly more often tend to consider the influenza vaccine as safe (chi 2=5.026, p=0.025) and effective (chi 2=11.247, p=0.001). Respondents who had comorbidities, who considered the vaccine as effective, and were not afraid of possible side effects were 3 times, 2.0 times, and 1.8 times more likely respectively to have received an influenza vaccine. Additionally, the respondents who tend to rely more on social media and internet as the main source of information regarding the flu vaccine were 0.5 times more likely to have rejected the vaccine. Conclusion: Addressing influenza vaccine safety, efficacy, patient-specific recommendations and encouraging effective physician communication and counselling are some of the key areas for increasing knowledge and awareness.