Immunising older Australians: Pre-COVID-19 associations of opportunistic immunisation in general practice registrar consultations.

Abstract

Vaccine uptake in older Australians issuboptimal. Thisexploratory study aims to establish the associations of opportunistic older person immunisation in general practice registrars' practice. This study was a cross-sectional analysis of data fromthe Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training (ReCEnT) study. Univariate andmultivariable regressions explored associations between vaccine recommendations and patient, registrar, practice and consultation factors. A total of 2839 registrars provided data on 74,436 consultations. Associations of lower odds of immunisation included Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (odds ratio [OR] 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.50, 0.96), rural/remote practice location (OR 0.75; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.98, compared with major cities) and in areas of greater relative socioeconomic disadvantage (OR per decile 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05). Patients new to the practice (OR 2.46; 95% CI: 2.06, 2.94), or to the registrar (2.02; 95% CI: 1.87, 2.18) had higher odds of receiving an immunisation. Our findings suggest that general practice registrars may be proactively facilitating immunisation in new patients, but that inequities in vaccination persist.