Influenza Vaccination Coverage, Motivators for, and Barriers to Influenza Vaccination among Healthcare Workers in Wroclaw, Poland

Abstract

Background: Influenza vaccination, as a key element of control activities intended to prevent nosocomial influenza transmission, is recommended each year for all healthcare workers (HCWs). The objectives were to determine the rate of influenza vaccination and to identify reasons for receiving or declining the influenza vaccine among HCWs in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 influenza seasons. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional observational study carried out between January and March 2020, in 2 hospitals and 15 primary health-care settings (PHCS) in Wroclaw (Poland). Results: A total of 165 questionnaires were completed. The majority of participating HCWs were female—137 (83.0%), and, by profession, the majority were physicians 92 (55.8%). Influenza vaccination coverage was 61.2% in 2019/20, and 47.9% in the 2018/19 season for all participants. Participants who were male, physicians and personnel from PHCS were more frequently vaccinated in both seasons. According to the statistical analysis, physicians were more likely to receive vaccinations than nurses (p < 0.01), as were HCWs who had been vaccinated in the previous season (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The identified barriers were mainly caused by misconceptions (fear of vaccine adverse effects and perception of not being at risk/no need to get vaccinated) and an organizational barriers (lack of time). These findings may prove useful for designing immunization campaigns to tailor strategies to reach specific groups.

Flu and COVID-19 Vaccination: What Happens to the Flu Shot When the Campaigns Overlap? Experience from a Large Italian Research Hospital

“…The differences in vaccine attitudes between physicians and nurses among health care professionals are not only seen in Western countries, such as Italy, but also in East Asian countries, such as Japan. In line with our findings, physicians seem to have a higher willingness to vaccination in Western and Middle East countries [51][52][53][54][55][56]. The reasons underlying this difference might lie in the higher level of knowledge about influenza and influenza vaccines of physicians, the idea of maintaining a strong and healthy body, decisional autonomy, and a perception of untrustworthy environment held by nurses [54][55][56][57].…”

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health workers sentiment towards influenza vaccination: A literature review

“…This could be attributed to awareness campaigns, as well as the rising knowledge regarding the importance of influenza vaccination 5 . There is consistent evidence among studies analyzed from Italy that males are more likely to accept influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic 6,7,9,10 . Young (25-35 years) male HWs demonstrated the biggest leap in vaccine adherence during the pandemic 6 , where Italian male healthcare staff had higher positive willingness toward flu immunization compared to females (74.7% vs 62.5%, respectively) 10 .…”

“…Moreover, in the context of the pandemic, physicians were found to be more willing to get vaccinated for influenza compared to nurses, mainly in Italy 5,6 , Poland 9 , Czech Republic 12 , Cyprus 15 , and Greece 17 . For example, in Cyprus, for the 2019-2020 season, physicians had higher influenza vaccination rates than nurses or other HWs cadres (68.9%, 20%, 29.8%, respectively) 15 .…”

“…In Italy, 81% of HWs reported self-protection as the reason for vaccination, with 98.1% in Poland, 79% in Ireland, and 77.4% in Cyprus 9,10,15,19 . The protection of themselves and their family was a stronger motive for vaccine uptake amongst female compared to male HWs 12,15 .…”

“…Negative perceptions are found globally, in Italy 10,11,21,24 , Poland (20%) 9 , Germany 22 , Cyprus 15 , Ireland 18 , Saudi Arabia (10.7%) 22 and Lebanon 20 . In Germany, in 2020-2021, perceptions on influenza disease and potential immunization adverse effects varied significantly 'between vaccinated and non-vaccinated Emergency Department personnel' 22 .…”