H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Compliance among Hospital- and Non-Hospital-Based Healthcare Personnel

Abstract

Non-hospital-based HCP versus hospital-based HCP reasons for H1N1 vaccine uptake differed. Targeted interventions are needed to increase compliance with pandemic-related vaccines.

Health care versus non-health care businesses’ experiences during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic: Financial impact, vaccination policies, and control measures implemented

“…This finding of rare mandatory vaccination policy reflects previous research that indicated that few health care agencies mandated workers receive the H1N1 pandemic vaccine. 16,17 However, the rate of having a mandatory H1N1 vaccination policy among health care agencies in this study (9%) was much lower than previously published studies that reported rates of 76.3% for hospital-based health care workers and 23.7% for non-hospitalbased health care personnel. 17 It was much closer to previous research indicating that 5.5% of emergency medical services agencies had a mandatory H1N1 influenza vaccination policy during the pandemic.…”

“…16,17 However, the rate of having a mandatory H1N1 vaccination policy among health care agencies in this study (9%) was much lower than previously published studies that reported rates of 76.3% for hospital-based health care workers and 23.7% for non-hospitalbased health care personnel. 17 It was much closer to previous research indicating that 5.5% of emergency medical services agencies had a mandatory H1N1 influenza vaccination policy during the pandemic. 16 In addition to being more likely to have a mandatory H1N1 vaccination policy, health care agencies were 2.1 times more likely to offer the H1N1 influenza pandemic vaccine to their employees compared with non-health care businesses.…”

“…27 In addition, health care personnel were prioritized to receive the H1N1 influenza pandemic vaccine when it first became available, 26 and uptake of the H1N1 vaccine was higher among health care professionals than the general public. 17,28 Therefore, the increased reporting of staffing shortages among health care agencies compared with non-health care businesses defies easy explanation. Another interesting finding from this study is that 15% of participating HR professionals reported that they worked while ill during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.…”

“…10 All other studies reporting 2009 H1N1 pandemicrelated experiences involved health care agencies, 7,14,15 and most only examined uptake of the H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccine. 16,17 The CDC provided recommendations for US non-health care businesses 2 and health care agencies 18 regarding interventions that should be implemented during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. However, no studies have been found that examine the extent to which US businesses implemented these recommendations.…”

Vaccination against influenza: role and limitations in pandemic intervention plans

“…Without herd immunity, disease spread is more likely, including among individuals at high risk for severe complications from infection. Past research indicates that healthcare personnel and the general public are less willing to receive pandemic vaccines compared with seasonal influenza vaccines [61,[71][72][73][74][75][76]. Little is known about the uptake of pandemic vaccines prior to the 2009 H1N1 vaccine, although one study reported that compliance with the 1975 swine influenza vaccine (for the anticipated pandemic) was only between 30 and 40% [74].…”