The relevance of Immunization for Longevity and consent of the “Senior Companion Program"

Abstract

The vaccine, a derived substance chemically similar to an infectious and diseasecausingagent has, by immunization ways, attested immunological protection effects againstcertain infectious diseases by increasing the resistance of the human organism. A risk group, suchas the elderly, due to their vulnerability to the flu virus, need to effectively adhere to the annualimmunization campaigns. Currently, it is still registered a low adherence of this public to thevaccine administration, which entails a high number of hospitalizations, complications anddeaths from seasonal flu. This study presents data from a survey conducted in 2014 during thevaccination campaign against influenza, on the consent of 108 people assisted by the "SeniorCompanion Program" of the Midwest region of São Paulo. Objectives: (I) Verify the number ofseniors consenting and not consenting to the vaccination campaign, their possible complaints ofadverse reactions, and myths and misconceptions about the vaccine; (II) Report the team actionsin raising awareness for clarification of questions and provision of information based onscientific evidence. Method: Data were collected via interviews with the elderly assisted by the"Senior Companion Program" which were analyzed by authors included in the literature review.The in-house immunization was given to the elderly with difficulty to go to the UBS (“BasicHealth Unit”) in order to facilitate their access to the vaccine. Results and Discussion: The exactquantification of vaccinated seniors; the number of seniors who did not join the campaignbecause of myths and prejudices; the reduced number of complaints about subsequent reactionsto the vaccine. Conclusion: Through listening to the elderly, it was possible to analyze the reasonsfor their non-adherence to influenza vaccination campaign, and then create tools to raiseawareness of the importance of these actions, by clarifying and dispelling myths andmisconceptions about the vaccine, in order to increase the number of consenting seniors.