Socioeconomic differences in influenza vaccination coverage by government financial support status: A population-based study in Korea

Background: Influenza can be prevented through vaccination, however vaccination coverage remains low. This study aims to analyze whether government financial support policies associated with improved vaccination coverage and to further analyze other influencing socioeconomic factors. Methods: This study utilized secondary data from the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to analyze factors influencing influenza vaccination among 5,592 participants. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between government financial support and vaccination coverage, and to analyze socioeconomic factors influencing vaccination in both the government-supported and non-supported groups. Results: The vaccination rate was higher in the financial-supported group(63.8%) than in the non-supported group(33.1%). After adjustment, the financial assistance group had a 2.02 higher vaccination coverage compared to the non-supported group. In the financial-supported group, low education and economic inactivity were associated with higher vaccination rates. While, in the non-supported group, women, higher household-income, and having employee-insured subscribers were associated with vaccination coverage. Conclusions: Financial support is provided to high-risk groups for influenza infection, and this group showed higher vaccination coverage in low socioeconomic groups. Therefore, targeted government intervention appears necessary to improve vaccination coverage in high-risk groups.