Abstract
BackgroundVaccination is the most effective prevention of seasonal influenza. Despite its recommendation and active promotion, vaccination coverage remains low among healthcare staff. The goal of the study was to test if a pre-employment health check is a good opportunity to promote future vaccination against influenza among healthcare workers newly hired by a university hospital.MethodsAll new hospital employees active at the bedside who underwent a pre-employment health check between the end of 2016’s influenza epidemic and the start of the next influenza vaccination campaign were randomly allocated to a control group or an intervention group. The intervention consisted of a semi-structured dialog and the release of an information leaflet about influenza and influenza vaccination during the check-up, and the shipment of a postcard reminder 2 weeks before the next vaccination campaign. Vaccination rates during the campaign were compared among the two groups.ResultsThree hundred fifty-seven employees were included. Vaccination rates were similar in both groups: 79/172 (46%) in the control and 92/185 (50%) in the intervention group. A significantly higher rate of vaccination was noted among physicians (70/117, 60%) than among other employees (101/240, 42%, p = 0.001). In a pre-defined exploratory analysis among physicians, the vaccination rate was higher in the intervention group (36/51, 71%) than in the control group (34/65, 52%, p = 0.046).ConclusionsPromotion of the influenza vaccine during pre-employment health check did not improve the vaccination rate of newly hired hospital healthcare workers overall during the next influenza vaccination campaign. Results suggest a favourable impact on the vaccination rate of physicians. Thus, there may be an interest in using communication strategies tailored to the different categories of healthcare workers to promote the influenza vaccine during pre-employment health check.Trial registrationClinicalTrials, NCT02758145. Registered 26 April 2016.
Highlights
Vaccination is the most effective prevention of seasonal influenza
The contents of all this documentation were designed in collaboration with communication specialists; they were evidence-based, as they took into account data from the literature on the determinants of influenza vaccination uptake among healthcare workers [16, 21, 22]
79/172 (46%) employees were vaccinated during the vaccination campaign which followed their inclusion in the study; the proportion was 92/185 (50%) in the intervention group, a difference that was not significant
Summary
Vaccination is the most effective prevention of seasonal influenza. Despite its recommendation and active promotion, vaccination coverage remains low among healthcare staff. Vaccination against seasonal influenza is the most effective means of preventing infection [4]. It is recommended for staff in healthcare institutions who are in regular contact with patients. Several studies carried out in chronic care institutions for the elderly have shown that reduced mortality rates among residents were directly related to healthcare staff’s vaccination against influenza [8,9,10]. Healthcare institution employees who are in regular contact with patients are intensively exposed to influenza, with infection rates of over 20% during epidemic periods [12], and significant consequences in terms of disease transmission to patients and absenteeism [13]
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