title: Fear of injections in young adults: prevalence and associations.
abstract: Fear of injections may interfere with receipt of vaccines. The frequency, associations, and precipitators of fear-provoking factors of 400 travelers visiting a travel health clinic were evaluated. The median age of this group was 25, 7% were medical staff members, and 2.8% were regular injectors (insulin). Eighty-five (21.7%; 95% confidence interval, 17.3-25.6%) of the travelers indicated that they were afraid of injections, and in 8.2%, the fear was unreasonably intense. Multivariate analysis revealed that watching other people being vaccinated, fear of pain, needle size, and a history of fainting were highly and independently associated with injection phobia. The sensitivity, specificity, and discrimination accuracy of this model were 79.5%, 78.0%, and 78.3%, respectively. Injection phobia and a bad past vaccination experience were significantly associated with fainting. Perceived empathy, on the other hand, was a significant protective factor. Fear of injections was common in this cohort and was highly associated with past fainting after vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases and Travel Clinic, Bnai Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nir
authors.forename: Alona
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paz
authors.forename: Edmond
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sabo
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Potasman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014195:Travel