F. Lawson et al., Standing orders for influenza vaccination increased vaccination rates in inpatient settings compared with community rates, J GERONT A, 55(9), 2000, pp. M522-M526
Citations number
22
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science","Medical Research General Topics
Journal title
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Background. Hospitalization of older adults during the period of influenza
vaccination in the fall of each year presents a barrier to immunization aga
inst influenza. This study evaluates a program using standing orders for in
fluenza vaccination to increase vaccination rates among hospitalized older
adults and to determine the effect of vaccination on readmission rates for
influenza-like illness.
Methods. An influenza vaccination program using a standing order policy was
implemented to vaccinate all consenting persons 65 years and older prior t
o hospital discharge. This was a prospective, single center, cohort study i
n a tertiary care university teaching hospital during an 8-week vaccination
period in the fall of 1994 and follow-up during the subsequent influenza s
eason. The vaccination status of each patient was recorded as no vaccinatio
n, vaccination received in hospital, or vaccination in the community prior
to or after the hospitalization. Hospital vaccination rates were compared w
ith the rate of vaccination of older adults in the community. During the su
bsequent influenza season, the number of subjects reporting symptoms of inf
luenza-like illness (ILI) or who were readmitted to hospital with influenza
-related illness was compared in an analysis of vaccinated versus unvaccina
ted subjects.
Results. Seven hundred and sixty-one patients were interviewed, and 332 of
these individuals had been vaccinated in the community prior to their hospi
tal admission. Of the remaining 429 unvaccinated patients who were eligible
for vaccination in the study, 171 were vaccinated in our immunization prog
ram, eight were vaccinated in the community after discharge, and 244 were n
ot vaccinated. We were able to increase the absolute vaccination rate by 22
%, when compared with community rates, with our immunization program. The n
umber of subjects with ILI symptoms or readmission to hospital was too smal
l to compare the vaccinated to the unvaccinated group in the study.
Conclusions. An inpatient influenza immunization program using a standing o
rder policy was able to target a particularly high-risk subset of persons 6
5 years and over who might otherwise have not received influenza vaccinatio
n.