The need for promoting educational activities regarding prevention strategies for influenza among college students / 日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会誌

ABSTRACT

<b>Introduction</b> To promote influenza prevention activities, we investigated the current status of prevention strategies for influenza among college students.<br><b>Methods</b> We handed out a questionnaire regarding prevention strategies for influenza to all students who visited at Oita University's Health Science Center for a medical checkup.<br><b>Results</b> Of the 2,752 students surveyed, 2,579 (93.7%) responded. Valid responses were obtained from 2,489 students (response rate 96.5%). Analysis of the questionnaire data revealed that the percentage of the students who received influenza vaccine was 21.0%. The proportion of the male students who received vaccine was significantly lower than that of female students (19.1% vs 23.7%). Regarding to the daily prevention habits, 71.7% of the students were able to carry out hand-washing, while less than half of the students carried out gargling, wearing a facemask and avoiding crowds. The proportion of the students who carried out daily prevention habits was significantly lower in non-vaccinated students than in vaccinated groups.<br><b>Conclusion</b> These results suggest that promotion of educational activities about prevention strategies for influenza at university is needed. Among them, promotion of vaccination for male students and daily prevention habits for non-vaccinated students are important.