Don't hesitate, vaccinate! An influenza vaccine education program

Abstract

The State of Connecticut mandates that prekindergarten children be vaccinated against the influenza virus each year by December 31st. Annually, prekindergarten students in urban schools in Connecticut are not compliant with this statute due to many factors such as parents’ lack of education. The purpose of an educational intervention project (EIP) is to provide urban prekindergarten parents/caregivers with education about the influenza virus, influenza vaccine, the community resources, and Connecticut mandates. An influenza vaccine educational intervention was provided to parents and caregivers of prekindergarten students in one urban elementary school in Connecticut. Parents were educated during an open house at the school and then 4 weeks later at a Meet and Greet with prekindergarten parents. Information regarding influenza virus, vaccine, and state regulations was provided along with Pre‐ and post‐questionnaires to assess the level of knowledge. The goal of this EIP is increased knowledge of the influenza virus, the vaccine, community resources, and state regulations. The success of this educational intervention can be shared and implemented in other licensed prekindergarten programs to increase parents’ knowledge and it would lead to increased rates of district‐wide compliance and decreased student absences. Most importantly, implications point to the potential protection of the public from an illness stemming from the influenza virus.

A Comparison of the Attitudes to Influenza Vaccination Held by Nursing, Midwifery, Pharmacy, and Public Health Students and Their Knowledge of Viral Infections

“…Educational programs regarding vaccination in medical schools are intended to increase knowledge, the ability to talk about potential side effects, positive attitudes to vaccination, and building immunization confidence [54,55], because vaccinated students and HCWs have higher knowledge of the vaccine and influenza than unvaccinated ones [50,51]. In the US, Public health students have taken part in programs to educate kindergarten parents and caregivers about the influenza virus and the influenza vaccine; this intervention resulted in greater compliance for vaccination among prekindergarten children and decreased absence [56]. Students of Public health, Nursing, Midwifery, and Pharmacy can also engage in education in educational care facilities [57,58], but also in hard-to-reach social groups [59].…”

Engaging Canadians in evidence-based communication about vaccines: a scoping review protocol of immunisation support programs in Canada

“…Conversations and information dissemination about immunisation can occur through various settings (eg, clinics, schools, community centres) to different sections of the population (eg, urban, rural, indigenous, vulnerable persons), by diverse teams (eg, nurses, pharmacists, educators) 28 29. The goal of such interventions and communication strategies is typically to promote uptake of vaccines30 including regular childhood vaccines,31 32 novel, disease-specific vaccines (eg, influenza33 and COVID-19 vaccines34) and travel-related vaccines 35…”