25012957
BACKGROUND	The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is recommended for elders , especially those with chronic conditions .
OBJECTIVE	The aim of this study was to determine if an additional multi-component health education intervention increases the uptake rate of the pneumococcal vaccination among older patients with chronic diseases .
METHODS	A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted from 3 December 2007 to 7 March 2008 .
METHODS	The clusters were the individual weeks within five Hong Kong outpatient clinics over a 10-week period .
METHODS	A sample of 2517 patients aged 65 or above with chronic diseases was recruited .
METHODS	Intervention group received a 3-min brief telephone education intervention before and a 3-min face-to-face intervention during scheduled medical appointments at the respective clinics .
METHODS	All subjects received standard care including health education leaflets and/or a video show at the clinics .
METHODS	Pneumococcal vaccination rate and awareness of the vaccination at 3-month follow up were measured .
RESULTS	The vaccination rate was higher in the intervention group compared to the control group ( 57 % vs 48 % ; relative risk = 1.20 , 95 % CI = 1.06-1 .37 ) , but the two groups did not differ significantly in their awareness of the vaccination at 3-month follow up ( 65 % vs 59 % , relative risk = 0.86 , 95 % CI = 0.69-1 .07 ) .
CONCLUSIONS	A nurse-delivered brief health education intervention was effective in increasing uptake of pneumococcal vaccination among older patients with chronic diseases .

