Influenza Vaccination Programs for Healthcare Personnel: Organizational Issues and Beyond

Abstract

Healthcare personnel (HCP) are a high priority group for influenza vaccination aiming to protect them but also to protect vulnerable patients and healthcare services from healthcare-associated influenza and HCP absenteeism. Multi-component influenza vaccination programs targeting behavioral, organizational, and administrative barriers are critical, if influenza vaccination rates among HCP are to be raised on a sustained basis. Mandatory influenza vaccination policy is the only single intervention that can achieve high and sustainable vaccination rates in HCP in short term. In this article, we provide an overview of issues pertaining to influenza vaccination of HCP, with an emphasis on organizational issues of influenza vaccination programs.

A comparison of seasonal influenza and novel Covid-19 vaccine intentions: A cross-sectional survey of vaccine hesitant adults in England during the 2020 pandemic

“…In hindsight, an additional limitation in relation to the predictive power of these models and the policy implications should be acknowledged; the availability of different COVID-19 vaccines approved shortly after the study was conducted and the huge amount of contradictory information (infodemics) may have influenced people’s attitudes and behaviors toward COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, with consequent impact on communication strategies. 86 …”

“…Several additional factors could be explored to improve our models of vaccine intention including systems-level factors which have been found to impact seasonal influenza vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. 86–88 Access barriers, including location and time of vaccine delivery, are factors related to the provision of health services and may have increased the disparities in reported intention and uptake. 89 Future research needs to examine issues relating to vaccine delivery such as access to preventative care services, timing, availability and location of appointments for vaccinations, and vaccination experience in order to assess the degree to which these factors impact willingness to accept vaccination.…”

Attitudes toward Vaccinations and Vaccination Coverage Rates among Dental Students in Greece

“…Finally, as reported by others (31.6%) [ 37 ], in our study, only 29.4% of students had been vaccinated against influenza the past year. Educational campaigns on the expected benefits of HCP influenza vaccination for them and their patients are imperative [ 38 ].…”

“…There is an urgent need to identify susceptible healthcare students and raise vaccination rates [ 1 ]. Organization and practical issues, including on-site vaccination, vaccination registries, follow-up procedures and reminder systems, should also be addressed [ 38 ]. Undergraduate and postgraduate programs of dentistry schools should also provide education about VPDs, increase awareness about vaccines and therefore influence vaccination decision-making and raise vaccination rates [ 18 ].…”

The impact of personal coaching on influenza vaccination among healthcare workers before and during COVID-19 pandemic

“…However, influenza vaccination rates among healthcare workers were lower than 40% in Europe and Asia [12] , [13] . Given the potential barriers to influenza vaccination among healthcare workers [14] , [15] , [16] , multi-component influenza vaccination programs targeting behavioural, organizational, and administrative barriers with particular focus on education and provision of on-site vaccination may not increase the vaccination rate to more than 40% [17] , [18] . Mandatory vaccination policy appears to be an important strategy to increase the influenza vaccination rate in healthcare workers to over 90% in the United States [19] , [20] .…”