Influenza vaccination among healthcare workers

Objective: To determine the vaccination rates among healthcare workers in t he Haifa subdistrict and to assess factors associated with vaccination upta ke among them. Methods: The study was conducted in the three general hospitals in Haifa Ci ty, and in five nursing homes in the Haifa subdistrict. Self-administered q uestionnaires were distributed to 1,014 employees of whom 71% were females, 34% were nurses, 27% were physicians and 28% were non-professional workers . Results: The crude response rate was 66%. Response rates were higher in f emales (71%) than in males (49%), in nurses (70%) than in physicians (43%), and in staff of internal and pediatric departments than in workers of surg ery departments and emergency rooms. The overall vaccination rate among the respondents was 11%, which was higher among males (15%) than among females (10%). No significant relationship between vaccination rate and age, occup ation and department was found. The vaccination rate among employees with c hronic illness was very low (7%). Influenza vaccine was actively recommende d to 29% of the employees. The main reasons for non-compliance were low awa reness of the severity of the disease and of the vaccine's efficacy and saf ety, and unavailability of the vaccine within the workplace. Conclusions: Educational efforts and offering the vaccine at the workplace at no cost are the most important measures for raising influenza vaccinatio n rates.