High Point Poll: Fewer than one-half NC residents get flu shot
Published October 11, 2018
by Martin Kifer, Director High Point University Poll, October 11, 2018.
The most recent HPU Poll finds that about half (47 percent) of those surveyed say they have had a flu shot within the past 12 months. The HPU Poll reported a similar finding a year ago, when 44 percent said that they had a flu shot within the past 12 months.
HPU Poll participants were also asked if they plan on getting a flu shot this year. Thirty-eight percent say that they do not plan on getting flu shot, while 37 percent say that they do plan on getting a flu shot this year, but have not yet done so. Only 1 in 5 (19 percent) indicated that they have already received the flu vaccination this year.
The HPU Poll finds that almost three-quarters (72 percent) of North Carolinians say they have not seen a health care provider for the flu in the past 12 months. The poll also asked survey participants with children under the age of 18 if they will have them vaccinated this year. When considering to vaccinate their children against the flu, almost two-thirds (64 percent) of those parents indicate that they will have their children get a flu shot this year.
“Influenza vaccine is an important step that people, caregivers and parents can take each year to protect themselves and their loved ones from infection with the flu,” says Dr. Jordan Smith, HPU’s assistant professor of clinical sciences in the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy. “Not only can the vaccine prevent infection from influenza virus, it also protects from serious complications, such as pneumonia, that can lead to hospitalization or death. It is especially important that certain members of the population, including people over the age of 65 and young children, receive the vaccine, as those people are often most vulnerable to complications from the disease.”
All adults – Health care providers and flu (October 2018)
Have you seen a health care provider for the flu in the past 12 months, or not?
Yes – 27 percent
No – 72 percent
(Don’t know/refuse) – 1 percent
(All adult (North Carolina resident) phone and online sample, surveyed Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 2018, n = 921 and credibility interval of +/- 4.2 percent)
All adults – Health care providers and flu (October 2018)
Have you had a flu shot within the PAST 12 MONTHS?
Yes – 47 percent
No – 52 percent
(Don’t know/refuse) – less than 1 percent
(All adult (North Carolina resident) phone and online sample, surveyed Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 2018, n = 921 and credibility interval of +/- 4.2 percent)
All adults – Health care providers and flu (October 2018)
Do you plan on getting a flu shot this year?
Yes, but have not gotten it yet – 37 percent
No – 38 percent
Yes, have already gotten it – 19 percent
(Don’t know) – 6 percent
(All adult (North Carolina resident) phone and online sample, surveyed Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 2018, n = 921 and credibility interval of +/- 4.2 percent)
All adults – Health care providers and flu (October 2018)
Do you have any children under the age of 18?
Yes – 30 percent
No – 70 percent
(All adult (North Carolina resident) phone and online sample, surveyed Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 2018, n = 921 and credibility interval of +/- 4.2 percent)
All adults – Health care providers and flu (October 2018)
Will you have your children vaccinated against flu this year?
(ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HAVING CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18)
Yes – 64 percent
No – 35 percent
(Don’t know/refuse) – 1 percent
(All adult (North Carolina resident) phone and online sample, surveyed Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 2018, n = 280 and credibility interval of +/- 7.7 percent)
The most recent HPU Poll was fielded by live interviewers at the High Point University Survey Research Center calling on Sept. 28-Oct. 7, 2018, and an online survey fielded at the same time. The responses from a sample of all North Carolina counties came from 921 adults interviewed online (603 respondents) as well as landline or cellular telephones (318 respondents). The Survey Research Center contracted with Survey Sampling International to acquire these samples, and fielded the online survey using its Qualtrics platform. This is a combined sample of live phone interviews and online interviews. The online sampling is from a panel of respondents, so their participation does not adhere to usual assumptions associated with random selection. Therefore, it is not appropriate to assign a classical margin of sampling error for the results. In this case, the SRC provides a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points to account for a traditional 95 percent confidence interval for the estimates (plus or minus 3.2 percentage points) and a design effect of 1.3 (based on the weighting). The data is weighted toward population estimates for age, gender, race, and education level based on U.S. Census numbers for North Carolina. Factors such as question wording and other methodological choices in conducting survey research can introduce additional error into the findings of opinion polls. Details from this survey are available at http://www.highpoint.edu/src/files/2018/10/61memoA.pdf.
Further results and methodological details from the most recent survey and past studies can be found at the Survey Research Center website at http://www.highpoint.edu/src/. The materials online include past press releases as well as memos summarizing the findings (including approval ratings) for each poll since 2010.
The HPU Poll reports methodological details in accordance with the standards set out by AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, and the HPU Survey Research Center is a Charter Member of the Initiative. For more information, see http://transparency.aapor.org/index.php/transparency.
You can follow the HPU Poll on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HPUSurveyCenter.
