The rate of seasonal influenza vaccination in diabetic children, the effect of recommendation and the factors influencing the acceptance of recommendation: an interventional study.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the vaccination rate of influenza in diabetic children and the effect of recommendation and other factors on vaccination rate. MATERIAL AND METHODS On July 2011, 144 diabetic children and their families were informed about and were recommended to receive the influenza vaccine every year, in September. On December 2011, parents were questioned about the vaccination. RESULTS Influenza vaccination rate of the previous season (28.3%) increased to 50.0% (p<0.05). Receiving the vaccine in 2010 was the only contributing factor to the recommendation success. The reasons given by the non-receivers were; forgetting (50.0%), fear of adverse-effects (26.4%), not believing in usefulness (15.2%), rejection by the child (4.2%) and effects of media (4.2%). 88.9% of those who forgot declared that they would receive if they were reminded at the beginning of the season. CONCLUSION The rate of influenza vaccination was low. The majority of those who didn't recieve the vaccination declared that they would if they were reminded at the beginning of the season and the fact that "receiving the vaccine in 2010" was the only factor influencing the recommendation success indicate that recommending isn't enough but that reminding and giving detailed information about the vaccine will increase vaccination rates independent of other factors.