Self-determination in vaccination among elders

Abstract

Self-determination, such as in vaccination, is a focus of empowerment, especially for those who are at risk of infection, such as older adults. Investigating the nature and variation is therefore crucial. Its basis rests on the fourfold dimensionality of self-determination that specifies the components of intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, and external regulation. Such a dimensionality is in need of validation, as by the present study, which surveyed about 500 elders in Hong Kong, China. Further to the validation, the study examines predictors of self-determination in pneumococcal vaccination and its components, and therefore delineates their variations among categories of sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. The study thus identifies targets for promoting self-determination in vaccination.