Seasonal flu vaccine health beliefs and intent post HSCT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The impact of seasonal influenza infection and vaccination health beliefs on vaccination intent amongst adult recipients of autologous and allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant
IRAS ID
193912
Contact name
Paul Miller
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 30 days
Research summary
For patients with some types of blood cancer, a stem cell transplant is a lifesaving treatment. However, the transplant isn’t the end of the journey as these patients may face long-term health problems. One significant problem is a weakened immune system; for at least a year after transplant, patients are at very high risk of catching infections. If transplant patients catch an infection, they may become very unwell.
An infection that transplant patients are at risk from is the flu virus. The main way to try and reduce this risk is by giving the flu vaccine each winter. The patients’ immune system responds to the vaccine by producing antibodies that help prevent infection.
Two recent studies at UK stem cell transplant hospitals indicate that 60-70% of transplant patients actually receive the seasonal flu vaccine. This is similar to the flu vaccination rate of patients aged over 65 in the UK, and exceeds the UK rate amongst other high-risk adults. However, as transplant patients are particularly vulnerable to seasonal influenza and its complications, it is important to understand why vaccination rates are not higher, and how they may be improved.
Research studies have suggested that transplant physicians’ awareness of current vaccination guidelines, and the medical complexity of recovery post-transplant, both contribute to current low vaccination rates. The impact of health beliefs on flu vaccine uptake has been studied in other high risk patient groups including those aged over 65, and pregnant women. No studies to date have explored transplant patients’ seasonal flu and seasonal flu vaccine health beliefs. The aim of this study is to explore how transplant patients' health beliefs may determine vaccination intent, and so identify potential targets for focused strategies to improve vaccination uptake.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0144
Date of REC Opinion
15 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion