Promotion of Preventive Measures in Public Nursery Schools: Lessons From the H1N1 Pandemic

Abstract

Nursery schools serve as reservoirs of transmission of infectious diseases, and teachers should be able to implement and monitor hygiene measures to prevent them. The aim of the present study was to assess the compliance of nursery school teachers on promoting preventive interventions and to identify associated factors, during the novel H1N1 influenza pandemic. A secondary objective was to evaluate their knowledge and vaccination status regarding the novel virus. A cross-sectional study was performed, with the use of a predesigned anonymous, questionnaire, and distributed to all public nursery teachers of Athens, Greece. General etiquette practices were highly acceptable to over 92% of teachers. Those with longer teaching experience promoted simple preventive measures, such as hand washing and use of hand sanitizer, more often while older children were more likely to familiarize with them. However, teachers presented inadequate knowledge concerning the novel virus and their vaccination rates with the pandemic vaccine were unacceptably low (1.1%). Our study showed that promotion of simple preventive measures is feasible and may contribute to the prevention of outbreaks in nursery schools, although knowledge gaps and fear concerning the pandemic vaccine highlight communication issues.

Knowledge and Attitudes of School Teachers on Vaccination in Greece

“…This vaccination was characterized as an expression of social responsibility, albeit optional, as it was intended both for their personal protection and protection of the students. Worldwide few studies have aimed to explore attitudes, knowledge and vaccination coverage of school teachers and the majority of them have focused on measles and influenza vaccination [ 2 3 4 5 ]. The general conclusion is that teachers have a lower than expected vaccine acceptance rate which may be improved with targeted education [ 2 3 4 5 ].…”

“…Worldwide few studies have aimed to explore attitudes, knowledge and vaccination coverage of school teachers and the majority of them have focused on measles and influenza vaccination [ 2 3 4 5 ]. The general conclusion is that teachers have a lower than expected vaccine acceptance rate which may be improved with targeted education [ 2 3 4 5 ]. Studies have also shown that teachers may have an important role in addressing students' and parents' vaccine hesitancy and this role has been found to be associated with their own knowledge, attitudes and practices towards vaccines [ 5 6 7 ].…”

“…The general conclusion is that teachers have a lower than expected vaccine acceptance rate which may be improved with targeted education [ 2 3 4 5 ]. Studies have also shown that teachers may have an important role in addressing students' and parents' vaccine hesitancy and this role has been found to be associated with their own knowledge, attitudes and practices towards vaccines [ 5 6 7 ]. Our study aims to explore vaccination coverage as well as the general knowledge of school teachers in the field in Greece.…”

“…Moreover, school teachers, are not aware of their role in health promotion. Interestingly, studies show that teachers who have received training on health promotion tend to be involved more frequently in health promotion projects and have a more comprehensive approach to health education [ 5 6 7 ]. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to emphasize health promotion development strategies at the school environment.…”

Conocimientos Y Actitudes Sobre Bioseguridad Durante El Segundo Semestre Del 2021 en La Pandemia Por Covid-19, en Un Grupo De Docentes De Colegios Del Área Metropolitana De Bucaramanga

“…También se han evaluado los conocimientos y actitudes en docentes en pandemias anteriores como la ocasionada por el H1N1, lo anterior para conocer si los profesores identifican factores de riesgo y medidas de intervención para promocionar la prevención en los lugares de trabajo, debido a que en estos se pueden transmitir las enfermedades debido a sus características, los investigadores reportaron bajo nivel de conocimientos y recomendaron mejorar la comunicación y sobre todo aclarar los miedos relacionados con la vacuna. En el primer párrafo de la discusión del artículo publicado por Michail y colaboradores, ellos mencionado que los profesores pueden influir en los hábitos de sus estudiantes, por consiguiente, es muy importante que ellos tengan conocimientos y actitudes convenientes para fomentar esto en la comunidad educativa y en general en la sociedad (Michail et al, 2017).…”