Factors associated with the acceptance of the influenza vaccine among health workers: knowledge, attitude and practice

Abstract

Influenza vaccine is recommended for all health workers, but vaccination coverage remains unsatisfactory. A cross-sectional study that aimed to identify factors associated with influenza vaccination was carried out with health workers from a large Hospital Complex in Salvador, Bahia. A self-administered questionnaire was used based on the models "Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices" and "Health Belief Model". The dependent variable was the vaccination status against influenza in 2014, and the independent variables were sociodemographic factors, vaccine history, knowledge and attitudes about influenza/influenza vaccine. Logistic regression was used, odds ratio was calculated with 95% confidence intervals, adjusting for sex, age and occupation. The best multivariate model was chosen through backwards elimination and the Akaike Information Criterion. 755 workers participated. Influenza vaccine coverage was 61.5%, being higher among nurses (69.0%) and lower among physicians (49.1%). The factors associated with being vaccinated against influenza were: knowing that even when healthy, one must vaccinate against influenza (OR = 3.15; 95%CI:1.74-5.71); knowing that the vaccine does not protect for many years (OR = 2.08; 95%CI:1.30-3.33); and not to be afraid of post-vaccine adverse effects (OR = 1.93; 95%CI: 1.26-2.95).