Knowledge, Attitude, and Intention of Rural Elderly About Influenza Preventive Behaviors, Fasa, Iran, 2019

Background Aims: Influenza is one of the leading causes of death in the world, especially in the elderly. This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and intention of rural elderly about influenza prevention behaviors. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study was performed on 140 rural older people who were selected by multi-stage random sampling in Fasa, Iran. A questionnaire was developed to inform about individuals’ knowledge, attitude, and practice on influenza prevention measures. Data were analyzed using frequency descriptive statistics and the Chi- square test by SPSS-21. Results: A total of 61 men (mean age of 69.32 ± 6.81) and 71 women (mean age of 69.04 ± 7.52) responded to the questionnaire. The mean score of knowledge in women (6.8 ± 2.1) was significantly higher than in men (5.8 ± 2.7). The mean score of knowledge in illiterate people (6.45 ± 2.43) compared to literate people (6.08 ± 2.58) showed no significant differences. In addition, the differences between the mean score of attitudes in both men (5.67 ± 5.67) and women (6.05 ± 29.59) were not significant. Likewise, there were no significant differences between the mean scores of attitudes in the literate (28.74 ± 5.74) and illiterate (29.87 ± 5.89) elderly. The mean scores of intention in men and women were 6.18 ± 1.76 and 6.13 ± 1.53, respectively, which was not significantly different. Finally, the mean scores of intention in literate (5.85 ± 2.14) and illiterate (6.25 ± 1.42) participants were not significantly different. Conclusion: The knowledge, attitude, and intention of rural elderly about influenza prevention behaviors are not satisfactory, and large-scale educational interventions are required in this regard, especially in rural areas.