Assessing the Contextual and Social Determinants of Healthcare Workers (Hcws) on Seasonal Flu Vaccination in a Tertiary Pediatric Hospital in Greece

Maroudi S, Kopsidas J, Kourkouni E, Tsopela GC, Charalampopoulos D, Sirogianni A, Lourida A, Feemster KA, Zaoutis T, Coffin S
34th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID 2016)
Brighton, UK, May 10-14, 2016

BACKGROUND & AIM: Influenza vaccination rates remain low internationally among HCWs who are an important priority group for vaccination. Greece, like other European countries, reports low rates but there is little data on the barriers and facilitators of influenza vaccine in the healthcare setting. This study assessed HCWs’ knowledge and perceptions about seasonal flu vaccination in a tertiary pediatric hospital in Athens, Greece.

METHODS: A cross-sectional anonymous survey of HCWs was conducted to assess HCWs attitudes toward influenza vaccination in the hospital as well as knowledge and perceptions about the influenza vaccine. The survey instrument also identified the most commonly cited facilitators and barriers to HCW receipt of the seasonal influenza vaccine. Descriptive statistics and associations between specific factors were conducted using SPSS v.20.

RESULTS: 352 participants (106 doctors, 145 nurses, and 101 other hospital staff) responded to the survey (response rate around 65%). Overall, 64% of participants had not been vaccinated in the previous 3 years. Non-vaccination rates were significantly higher among nurses (75.7%) and cleaning/food service workers (72.7%), compared to doctors (40%) (P<0.001). The most commonly cited reasons for non-vaccination were concerns regarding vaccine side effects (40.1%) and ineffectiveness (26.6%). Only 14.2% of the respondents received influenza vaccine annually, although 88.2% reported difficulties obtaining the vaccine at the hospital. Only 26.6% strongly disagree with a mandatory administrative directive for vaccination.

CONCLUSIONS: We identified both knowledge and perception barriers as well as logistical difficulties that might undermine HCW influenza vaccination in the hospital setting, although a majority agreed with mandatory directives for vaccination. Additional qualitative studies will help better characterize modifiable barriers to vaccination. These findings may inform the development of interventions to improve HCW influenza vaccination in hospitals in Greece.