Abstract
Seasonal influenza vaccination for healthcare workers (HCWs) is critical to the protection of HCWs and their patients. This study examined whether the separation of public health workers and general practitioners could affect the influenza vaccine uptake and recommendation behaviors among HCWs in China. A survey was conducted from August to October 2019, and HCWs from 10 provinces in China were recruited. A self-administered and anonymous questionnaire was used to assess HCWs’ demographic information, knowledge, and attitudes toward influenza vaccination, as well as vaccine uptake and recommendation behaviors. The primary outcome was HCWs’ vaccination and recommendation status of seasonal influenza vaccine. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify the influence factors of influenza vaccine uptake and recommendation among HCWs. Of the 1159 HCWs in this study, 25.3% were vaccinated against influenza in the previous season. “No need to get vaccinated” was the primary reason for both unvaccinated public health workers and general practitioners. Multivariate logistic regression showed that public health workers were more likely to get vaccinated against influenza (OR = 2.20, 95% CI 1.59–3.05) and recommend influenza vaccination to children (OR = 2.10, 95% CI 1.57–2.80) and the elderly (OR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.26–2.25) than general practitioners. Besides, the knowledge and perceived risk of influenza can give rise to HCWs’ vaccination and recommendation behaviors, and HCWs who got vaccinated in the past year were more likely to recommend it to children and the elderly in their work. The influenza vaccine coverage and recommendation among HCWs are still relatively low in China, especially for general practitioners. Further efforts are needed to improve the knowledge and attitudes toward influenza and influenza vaccination among HCWs, and coherent training on immunization for both public health workers and general practitioners might be effective in the face of separated public health and clinical services in China.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that seasonal influenza may affect 5% to 15% of the world’s population each year, causing as many as 3–5 million severe cases and 290,000–650,000 deaths [1].influenza places a huge burden on healthcare and social economy in most countries, includingChina [2]
26.1% of the healthcare workers (HCWs) in our study knew that influenza virus in droplets can live for 30 minutes in the air, and only about half of them knew the incubation period of influenza
The present study suggested that both public health workers and general practitioners in China should improve their knowledge of and attitudes toward influenza vaccination
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that seasonal influenza may affect 5% to 15% of the world’s population each year, causing as many as 3–5 million severe cases and 290,000–650,000 deaths [1].influenza places a huge burden on healthcare and social economy in most countries, includingChina [2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that seasonal influenza may affect 5% to 15% of the world’s population each year, causing as many as 3–5 million severe cases and 290,000–650,000 deaths [1]. Influenza places a huge burden on healthcare and social economy in most countries, including. Annual vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza infection [3]. Compared with the general population, healthcare workers (HCWs) are at higher risk of exposure to influenza virus, bringing potential threats for the occupational health of HCWs [4]. HCWs may represent an important vector for transmission to susceptible patients, including those at high risk for serious outcomes [5]. The technical guidance for influenza vaccination in China (2019–2020)
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