Nosocomial influenza: Need to vaccinate health-care workers

[Primary health care professionals attitudes towards influenza immunzation in Catalonia]

Objetivo

Los trabajadores sanitarios tienen riesgo de adquirir la gripe y actuar como vectores para la transmisión nosocomial. El objetivo del estudio fue la valoración de los conocimientos y actitudes de los profesionales sobre la vacunación antigripal, y determinar los factores asociados a ella por parte de profesionales de atención primaria en Cataluña.

Diseño

Estudio transversal mediante una encuesta anónima vía web.

Emplazamiento

Profesionales sanitarios de atención primaria del Instituto Catalán de la Salud.

Participantes

Se incluyó a 1.212 profesionales de atención primaria. Se excluyó a los profesionales con contraindicación para recibir la vacuna o indicación de vacunación por condición médica de riesgo y aquellos que hubieran participado en la red centinela de vigilancia de la gripe Pla d’Informació Diària d’Infeccions Respiratòries Agudes de Catalunya (PIDIRAC).

Resultados

Se consideraron 423 respuestas válidas, con una cobertura vacunal global del 46,6%. Se vacunaron más los que tenían de 45 a 54 años, los pediatras, los vacunados en las 3 temporadas anteriores o en alguna de ellas y los que convivían con enfermos crónicos. Se observó asociación entre estar vacunado y considerar que la vacunación es la mejor medida preventiva, preocupación por contraer la gripe y considerar importante la vacunación del personal sanitario.

Conclusiones

Las actividades dirigidas a aumentar la cobertura de vacunación en profesionales sanitarios deberían dirigirse fundamentalmente a corregir concepciones erróneas sobre la vacunación de la gripe en profesionales sanitarios.

Controversies in vaccine mandates

Policies that mandate immunization have always been controversial. The controversies take different forms in different contexts. For routine childhood immunizations, many parents have fears about both short- and long-term side effects. Parental worries change as the rate of vaccination in the community changes. When most children are vaccinated, parents worry more about side effects than they do about disease. Because of these worries, immunization rates go down. As immunization rates go down, disease rates go up, and parents worry less about side effects of vaccination and more about the complications of the diseases. Immunization rates then go up. For teenagers, controversies arise about the criteria that should guide policies that mandate, rather than merely recommend and encourage, certain immunizations. In particular, policy makers have questioned whether immunizations for human papillomavirus, or other diseases that are not contagious, should be required. For healthcare workers, debates have focused on the strength of institutional mandates. For years, experts have recommended that all healthcare workers be immunized against influenza. Immunizations for other infections including pertussis, measles, mumps, and hepatitis are encouraged but few hospitals have mandated such immunizations-instead, they rely on incentives and education. Pandemics present a different set of problems as people demand vaccines that are in short supply. These issues erupt into controversy on a regular basis. Physicians and policy makers must respond both in their individual practices and as advisory experts to national and state agencies. The articles in this volume will discuss the evolution of national immunization programs in these various settings. We will critically examine the role of vaccine mandates. We will discuss ways that practitioners and public health officials should deal with vaccine refusal. We will contrast responses of the population as a whole, within the healthcare setting, and in the setting of pandemic influenza.

Attitudes amongst Australian hospital healthcare workers towards seasonal influenza and vaccination

BACKGROUND

Amongst healthcare workers (HCWs), compliance rates with influenza vaccination are traditionally low. Although a safe and effective vaccine is available, there is little Australian data on reasons for poor compliance, especially amongst allied health and ancillary support staff.

METHODS

Cross-sectional investigation of a sample of clinical and non-clinical HCWs from two tertiary-referral teaching hospitals in Sydney, Australia was conducted between June 4 and October 19, 2007. The self-administered questionnaire was distributed to hospital personal from 40 different wards and departments. The main outcome measures were personal beliefs about influenza vaccination and self-reported vaccination status.

RESULTS

Respondents (n = 1079) were categorized into four main groups by occupation: nurses (47.5%, 512/1079), physicians (26.0%, 281/1079), allied health (15.3%, 165/1079) and ancillary (11.2%, 121/1079). When asked whether they felt the influenza vaccine was safe or effective, 81% (879/1079) and 68% (733/1079), respectively, replied in the affirmative. Participants felt that it was more important to get vaccinated to protect patients (74%, 796/1079) than family (68%, 730/1079) or self-protection (66%, 712/1079). However, only 22% (241/1079) of the HCWs who replied reported receiving the vaccine the year the survey was conducted.

CONCLUSIONS

Although HCWs had an adequate level of knowledge towards influenza vaccination, only 22% of them were vaccinated. The approach to improving influenza vaccination rates amongst HCWs and to tackling misconceptions must be multifaceted, adaptable and must evolve regularly to increase coverage.