Fostering Flu Vaccination in Healthcare Workers: Forum Theatre in a University Hospital

Abstract

BackgroundThe World Health Organization recommends flu vaccination as the most effective way to prevent the disease and its severe outcomes and has established the minimum vaccination coverage for people at risk at 75%. Even though healthcare workers (HCWs) represent a strongly recommended target group for flu vaccination campaigns, the average coverage among them is still inadequate. In flu season 2015/2016, our University Hospital tested Forum Theatre (FT) as a new participative strategy to foster HCWs engagement regarding flu vaccination. The aim of this study was to evaluate HCWs’ satisfaction with and perceived utility of FT.Material/MethodsIn 2015, five FT sessions were organized in hospital units which were considered at risk for flu based on the type of admitted patients. After each session, participants were asked to complete an assessment questionnaire. The χ2 test or the t-test was used to compare the proportion of participants who were satisfied with the FT and considered it useful (utility score). Data was analyzed according to gender, profession, and age.ResultsIn all, 16.5% of HCWs who worked in four out of five of the units identified, participated in the FT sessions. Questionnaire results indicated that 74% of spectators were satisfied with their experience and 70% considered this methodology a useful approach for other health issues. Gender, age, and profession did not influence satisfaction or utility scores.ConclusionsParticipative strategies such as FT represent an innovative solution to increasing HCWs’ awareness of the importance of flu vaccination and could positively impact their adherence to vaccination recommendations. FT can also be a meaningful HCW teaching tool for learning about and changing attitudes toward other clinic and public health issues.

Strategies to Increase Flu Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Workers: A 4 Years Study in a Large Italian Teaching Hospital

“…Concerns about safety, necessity and effectiveness of influenza vaccination, the lack of awareness of being potentially responsible for the transmission to patients, the lack of time and absent or inadequate vaccination policies and services were identified as main reasons to delay or refuse flu vaccination, both in the literature and in our setting [24,25,[35][36][37][38]. Based on these evidences, starting from the 2015-2016 influenza season, different evidence-based strategies [24,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45] were progressively implemented in the following seasons (Table 1).…”

“…It is characterized by a participative and pro-active approach to discuss a problem, in which the audience (the "spect-actors") is involved in the plot and encouraged to suggest different resolution for the play and to directly come on stage and act [46]. Although already implemented in communities and hospital setting, to our knowledge, our experience represented the first application in the field of flu vaccination among HCWs [42].…”

“…This new bottom-up approach has been carried out since the 2016-2017 campaign. This strategy emerged as request from HCWs who participated at the FT [42]. Thought, this project has been already used elsewhere, as reported in the scientific literature [39,[47][48][49][50][51].…”

“…At the end of the 2015-2016 season, the vaccination coverage rate against influenza among HCWs was almost 6%. Moreover, more than 74% of the participants were satisfied about the FT experience and 70% of those who were interviewed considered this methodology a useful approach for other health issues [42].…”

A campaign aimed at increasing seasonal influenza vaccination coverage among post graduate medical residents in an Italian teaching hospital

“…A peculiar theatre methodology, created in Brazil in the 1970s, with the propose of promoting social and political change and characterized by a participative approach was adopted for the first time only in 2015-16 campaign in the FPG-UCSC, to increase awareness and promote influenza vaccination, reaching good overall success. 31 Every spectator -or rather "spect-actor"can be involved in the theatrical representation, be stimulated to go on stage, play a part in the story, change the lines and make the events take another turn. (6) Opening conference to launch the seasonal vaccination campaign.…”