Abstract
Healthcare workers (HCWs) in paediatric hospitals are an important source of advice on vaccinations, but vaccine hesitancy can affect even these professionals. The aim of this study is to assess this phenomenon, measuring it by means of a scoring system. A survey was conducted in five departments of an Italian paediatric university hospital of national interest. Vaccination against influenza was considered a behavioral indicator of vaccination uptake. Using the collected data, the healthcare worker’s vaccination compliance index (HVCI) was computed. The results demonstrate statistically significant differences between departments and professional profiles. Nearly 80% of the sample was not immunized against seasonal influenza. According to the HVCI scores, the most hesitant departments are the intensive care unit, emergency room, and oncohematology department, while the most hesitant professional profiles are nurses and auxiliary staff. The score of the unvaccinated is significantly lower than that of the vaccinated, and the same difference was found between those who self-perceive to be skilled versus unskilled. The HVCI score was statistically verified as a predictive parameter to assess vaccination against seasonal influenza. By means of strategic training policies, both HVCI and perceived skills could be improved, suggesting that hospital management should draw a complex intervention program to fight against hesitancy.
Highlights
The study was carried out from June to August 2018 using an anonymous paper questionnaire taken by Healthcare workers (HCWs) from the intensive care unit, the health management, diagnostics, and oncohematology departments, and the emergency room
We investigated complacency among the ingroup of the sample with a set of multiple choice questions regarding what HCWs felt when they learned about the drop-in vaccination coverage and what their colleagues and contacts think about the measles epidemic and the need to get vaccinated
The coverage of the seasonal influenza vaccination is low, and this fact is similar in other European studies, in which the reported mean coverage is less than 20% [22,23]
Summary
Since the first discoveries of Edward Jenner in 1796 [1], vaccinations have represented a revolution in the field of preventive medicine; in spite of the results obtained and the unanimous positions of scientists, in recent years, public health services have been fighting against a growing skepticism towards vaccines. This worldwide problem, known as “vaccine hesitancy”, includes behaviors ranging from a simple tendency to postpone certain vaccinations, to the expression of more or less strong doubts about them, and even a complete refusal to receive of any vaccine shot. Betsch [3] later introduced a fourth “C”, calculating, to describe weighing the pros and cons relating to vaccination These and other elements define vaccine hesitancy. It is not simple to give this phenomenon a proper definition and contextualization, as it can vary according to the social, political, and cultural context of a country or a specific geographical area
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