Vaccination Uptake and Patient Perceptions Among Haemodialysis Patients: Insights From a Cross-Sectional Study.
Eirini Potamianou, Ioanna Dimitriadou, Maria Saridi and 4 others
PMID 41405003WHAT IT FOUND
Haemodialysis patients in Greece had high influenza, pneumococcal and hepatitis B vaccination rates, but low meningococcal and Haemophilus influenzae uptake.
Older and more educated patients were more likely vaccinated, and positive attitudes linked only weakly to actual vaccination.
Key findings
01Among 201 haemodialysis patients, coverage was high for influenza (88.6%), pneumococcal (85.1%) and hepatitis B (83.1%), but substantially lower for meningococcal B (25.4%) and Haemophilus influenzae (16.9%).
02Age was significantly associated with uptake of MMR, meningococcal B and Haemophilus influenzae vaccines, and education level was significantly associated with uptake of pneumococcal, MMR, meningitis A/C/Y/W, herpes zoster and hepatitis A vaccines.
03Positive vaccine attitudes were weakly but significantly correlated with actual vaccination behaviour (r=0.163 to r=0.341).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was a convenience sample from three public hospitals in Greece, so it may not represent other dialysis populations. The cross-sectional design cannot show that age, education or attitudes caused vaccination behaviour. Patients who could not speak or write Greek, had inadequate communication skills or were excluded for severe illness may be missing, so results may not apply to the most vulnerable dialysis patients. The text reports pertussis uptake inconsistently (51.2% and 49.3%).
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funder is named as HEAL-Link.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that vaccination coverage in haemodialysis patients is adequate because influenza, pneumococcal and hepatitis B rates were high. Coverage was low for meningococcal B and Haemophilus influenzae, and the study cannot show that education or provider recommendation would raise uptake.