Improving influenza vaccination rates of healthcare workers: a multipronged approach in Qatar

Abstract

We assessed whether an influenza vaccination (IV) campaign was effective at increasing vaccination rate in healthcare workers (HCWs) in 2 hospitals in Doha, Qatar that had no mandatory IV policy. The campaign comprised promotional, educational and vaccine delivery interventions; a dedicated IV team; telephone hotline; free IV with improved access, leadership involvement; incentives; group educational sessions; and reporting/tracking activities. During the 2014/15 influenza season, IV rates according to hospital and HCW category were calculated and compared with the 2 seasons before the intervention. The combined mean rate for IV for both hospitals increased for 2014/15 (64.3%) compared with 2013/14 (37.2%) and 2012/13 (28.4%). There was increased IV uptake among doctors and nurses at each hospital, and the IV rate for the 2 hospitals (59.1 and 69.5%) were higher than in 2013/14 (21.1% and 53.2%) and 2012/13 (17.2% and 39.6%). The findings highlight the importance of improving IV rates among HCWs in hospitals with no mandatory vaccination policies through multicomponent interventions. ‫ر‬

Factors associated with influenza vaccination among healthcare workers in acute care hospitals in Canada

“…Although targeted educational strategies may be needed to resolve misconceptions, immunization programs focusing solely on education result in only minimal increases in coverage rates . Evaluations of programs targeting nurses suggest that multipronged approaches are necessary to address the myriad reasons for vaccine hesitancy and refusal in this occupational group …”

“…31 Although targeted educational strategies may be needed to resolve misconceptions 22 , immunization programs focusing solely on education result in only minimal increases in coverage rates. 34,35 Evaluations of programs targeting nurses suggest that multipronged approaches are necessary [36][37][38][39] to address the myriad reasons for vaccine hesitancy and refusal in this occupational group. 24,40 Lastly, in our study population, people identifying as Black had lower odds of being vaccinated against influenza compared with those with European heritage.…”

Harnessing the power of advocacy to improve seasonal influenza vaccination coverage in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

“…Health care workers are an important primary group to be targeted by advocacy campaigns; first, because of their risk for and role in the transmission of influenza in their practice areas and, second, because of their influence on vaccine awareness and acceptance by their patients. Influenza vaccination rates among healthcare workers in two hospitals in Qatar were doubled during the 2014/2015 season following a comprehensive campaign that comprised parallel interventions including promotional and educational tools and resources, leadership engagement, and enhanced vaccine accessibility (10). Nonetheless, simple approaches such as educational sessions and posters targeting vaccine misconceptions and improving vaccine accessibility proved useful by nearly tripling the vaccination rates among healthcare workers at a university hospital in Geneva (11).…”

2019 Influenza Vaccination Campaign in an Italian Research and Teaching Hospital: Analysis of the Reasons for Its Failure

“…To increase the willingness of HCWs to get vaccinated, we could trigger competition between the different wards, a strategy that has already been tested and proven effective [23,24]. Furthermore, we would like to develop educational videos that explain the benefits of vaccination and fight the most common false beliefs about it and send them to all hospital workers via the intranet.…”