ArticlePloS one2025
Physician knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of respiratory syncytial virus in older adults: A cross-sectional survey in Germany and Italy.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Clinical and human burden of respiratory syncytial virus in older adults: a narrative review with emphasis on Italian data.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2026Review
- Bridging the Gap Between Vaccination Awareness and Practice in Heart Failure.International journal of heart failure · 2026Article
- Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes substantial morbidity and mortality among older adults and individuals with chronic diseases, putting pressure on healthcare systems. RSV vaccines became available in 2023, however, physicians' knowledge and attitudes regarding RSV and RSV vaccines may hinder uptake. We aimed to understand physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of respiratory infections, including RSV, and vaccination. A pre-tested cross-sectional survey was fielded with physicians who commonly administer or recommend respiratory vaccines in Germany and Italy. Regression models assessed physicians' characteristics associated with knowledge and perceptions of RSV. Overall, 307 physicians (Germany: n = 152; Italy: n = 155) completed the survey. Physicians had good mean RSV disease knowledge scores (Germany: 3.8/5; Italy: 3.3/5). Most (Germany: 68%; Italy: 72%) indicated wanting further information on RSV, versus <35% for other respiratory diseases. Most considered RSV an important burden, especially for adults aged ≥50 years with immunocompromising conditions (Germany: >96%; Italy: >92%) and ≥60 years with chronic conditions (Germany: >95%; Italy: >87%). Physicians seeing >100 versus ≤100 patients weekly, and general practitioners versus other specialists, perceived RSV burden as more important. Perceived barriers to RSV vaccination included lack of national recommendation and reimbursement (Germany: 92%; Italy: 89%), and patients not being informed on getting vaccinated (Germany: 71%; Italy: 59%). In conclusion, physicians generally considered RSV an important pathogen for older adults and those with chronic conditions at risk of severe infection. Most wanted more information on RSV, thus medical education is important to address knowledge gaps and enable physicians to guide patients in making informed vaccination decisions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.