Vaccination Against Influenza Among Lebanese Health Care Workers in the Era of Coronavirus Disease 2019

Abstract Background: Health care workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of influenza infection. Hence, the rationale for immunization to protect them and their patients particularly during the co-circulation of influenza and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aims to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices among HCWs towards the influenza vaccine and to identify the determinants of their willingness to vaccinate. Methods: Using an online survey, a cross-sectional study, was conducted in Lebanon between 14th and 28th October 2020 among HCWs. Descriptive statistics were reported using frequency and percentages for categorical variables. Multivariable logistic regression was carried out to identify the factors associated with influenza vaccine uptake. Adjusted odds ratio and their 95% confidence intervals were reported. Results: A total of 560 HCWs participated in the survey of which 72.9% were females. The majority were nurses (63.2%), married (66.1%) and aged between 30-49 years (53.9%). Nearly half of them had a good level of knowledge (≥80%). As perceived by HCWs, the availability of a sufficient quantity of vaccine will be the biggest challenge. Benefits of vaccination in enhancing patient safety, and avoiding co-infection by influenza and COVID-19 were well-acknowledged by HCWs. 32.1% of HCWs have received the influenza vaccine during the last year and 80.2% were willing to vaccinate for the current year. The influenza uptake was higher among HCWs who have received influenza vaccine in the past season (OR = 6.812, CI (3.045-15.239)), having a fair health status (OR = 3.117, CI (1.345-7.220)), good knowledge (OR=3.305, CI (1.155-9.457)), positive attitude (OR=2.305, CI (0.921-5.571)), low perception of barriers (OR= 4.130, CI (1.827-9.334)) and high perception of benefits (OR=6.264, CI (2.919-13.442) and was lower in single and divorced (OR=0.527, CI (0.284-0.978)). ConclusionAddressing misconceptions unveiled in this study through adapted training, along with economic interventions are needed to improve influenza vaccination coverage among HCWs.

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Strategies to increase influenza vaccine uptake among health care workers in Greece

Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1080/00365540701642658 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 266-268 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Helen C. Maltezou ◽

Antonios Maragos ◽

Vasilios Raftopoulos ◽

Katerina Karageorgou ◽

Theopisti Halharapi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Influenza Vaccine ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Vaccine Uptake ◽

Care Workers

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Acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among health care workers in Ghana

10.1101/2021.03.11.21253374 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Martin Wiredu Agyekum ◽

Grace Frempong Afrifa-Anane ◽

Frank Kyei-Arthur ◽

Bright Addo

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Side Effects ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Vaccine Uptake ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adverse Side Effects ◽

Care Workers ◽

The Government

The acceptance or otherwise of the COVID-19 vaccine by health care workers can influence the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among the general population as they are a reliable source of health information. In this study, we sought to determine the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines among health care workers in Ghana. Using a cross-sectional design, we collected data from 234 health care workers through a self-administered online survey from 16 January to 15 February 2021. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses using binary logistic regression were performed using STATA version 15. The results showed that 39.3% of health care workers had the intention of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Factors such as sex, category of health care workers, relative being diagnosed with COVID-19, and trust in the accuracy of the measures taken by the government in the fight against COVID-19 proved to be significant predictors of the acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine. Concerns about the safety of vaccines and the adverse side effects of the vaccine were identified as the main reasons why health care workers would decline uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in Ghana. The self-reported low intention of health care workers to accept the COVID-19 vaccine in Ghana requires the urgent call of the Government of Ghana and other stakeholders to critically address health care workers' concerns about the safety and adverse side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, as this would increase vaccine uptake. Interventions must also take into consideration sex and the category of health care workers to achieve the desired results. Keywords: COVID-19, Vaccines, Vaccine acceptance, Health care workers, Ghana

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Acceptability of COVID-19 Vaccination among Health Care Workers in Ghana

Advances in Public Health ◽

10.1155/2021/9998176 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Martin Wiredu Agyekum ◽

Grace Frempong Afrifa-Anane ◽

Frank Kyei-Arthur ◽

Bright Addo

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Side Effects ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Vaccine Uptake ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adverse Side Effects ◽

Care Workers ◽

The Government ◽

N 93

Because health care workers are a reliable source of health information, their acceptance or rejection of COVID-19 vaccines can influence the general population's uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. In this study, we sought to determine the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines among health care workers in Ghana. Using a cross-sectional design, we collected data from 234 health care workers through a self-administered online survey from 16 January to 15 February 2021. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed using STATA version 15. The findings revealed that 39.3% (n = 92) of health care workers intended to receive the COVID-19 vaccines. Factors such as sex (AOR = 0.451; CI 95% 0.240–0.845; p = 0.013 ), category of health care workers (AOR = 2.851; 95 CI%: 1.097–7.405; p = 0.031 ), relative being diagnosed with COVID-19 (AOR = 0.369; CI 95% 0.145–0.941; p = 0.037 ), and trust in the accuracy of the measures taken by the government in the fight against COVID-19 (AOR = 2.768; CI 95%: 1.365–5.616; p = 0.005 ) proved to be significant predictors of the acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine. Concerns about the safety of vaccines (n = 93, 65.5%) and the adverse side effects of the vaccines (n = 23, 14.8%) were identified as the main reasons why health care workers would decline uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in Ghana. The self-reported low intention of health care workers in Ghana to accept COVID-19 vaccines necessitates an urgent call from the Government of Ghana and other stakeholders to address health care workers' concerns about the safety and adverse side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, as this would increase vaccine uptake. Interventions must also take into consideration sex and the category of health care workers to achieve the desired results.

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The Impact of Vaccine Concerns on Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Influenza Vaccine Uptake Among Health Care Workers

American Journal of Public Health ◽

10.2105/ajph.2015.302736 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 105 (9) ◽

pp. e35-e41 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Rohit P. Ojha ◽

Sericea Stallings-Smith ◽

Patricia M. Flynn ◽

Elisabeth E. Adderson ◽

Tabatha N. Offutt-Powell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Influenza Vaccine ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Ethnic Disparities ◽

Vaccine Uptake ◽

Care Workers ◽

The Impact ◽

Racial Ethnic

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Assessing Interventions To Improve Influenza Vaccine Uptake Among Health Care Workers

Health Affairs ◽

10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1087 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 284-292 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Harunor Rashid ◽

Jiehui Kevin Yin ◽

Kirsten Ward ◽

Catherine King ◽

Holly Seale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Influenza Vaccine ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Vaccine Uptake ◽

Care Workers

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Immunization status of students of Nishtar medical university against hepatitis B

International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences ◽

10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20184427 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (11) ◽

pp. 3669

Author(s):

Dilawar Khan ◽

Hassan Abdullah Shakeel ◽

Hamza Maqsood ◽

Hafiz Muhammad Ahmar Aziz ◽

Muhammad Jahantab Qazi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Medical Students ◽

Hepatitis B ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Hbv Infection ◽

Vaccine Uptake ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Medical University

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Occupational exposure of health care workers and medical students increase their risk of acquiring HBV infection, and many authorities recommend vaccination. However, significant proportions of health care workers do not receive HBV immunization, and remain at increased risk to HBV infection. The present study was conducted on medical students to evaluate their knowledge regarding HBV and to know their vaccination status.Methods: This cross sectional, randomized, observational study was done at Nishtar medical university, Multan from November 2017 to July 2018. A pre-structured and tested questionnaire was given to 150 medical students from first year to final year. Out of these students 75 were males and 75 were females. The students were also interviewed about age, gender, year of study, screening before vaccination, history of vaccination, completion of all 3 doses and reasons for not getting vaccinated.Results: Out of 150 participants, 117 (78%) were vaccinated against HBV. In the vaccinated group, 90 (77%) completed all the three doses of their vaccination schedule and remaining 27 (23%) students were incompletely vaccinated. Rate of vaccine uptake was higher in females; 63 (84%) than in males: 53 (71%). Reasons of not being vaccinated were lack of knowledge about consequences (15.5%), casual behaviour (36%), not knowing from where to get vaccine (12%), fear of injection (10%), busy in studies (10%) and financial problems (8%). Prior screening was done in 74 (63%) students before the vaccination.Conclusions: Despite the availability and accessibility of a cost-effective hepatitis B vaccine since mid80's, the vaccination coverage among medical students is low. Health education needs to be improved in all medical students. The orientation and awareness programmes should be held to create awareness regarding HBV infection.

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Systematic review of factors influencing seasonal influenza vaccine uptake among health care workers

10.5353/th_b5320594 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Wing-yan Pang

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health Care ◽

Influenza Vaccine ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Seasonal Influenza ◽

Vaccine Uptake ◽

Seasonal Influenza Vaccine ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Care Workers

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Influenza immunization among Tunisian health care workers in the 2018-2019 influenza season

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.1434 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

I Cherif ◽

G Kharroubi ◽

L Bouabid ◽

A Gharbi ◽

A Boukthir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Influenza Vaccine ◽

Influenza Vaccination ◽

Vaccination Coverage ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Influenza Season ◽

Vaccine Uptake ◽

Influenza Immunization ◽

Knowledge And Attitudes ◽

Care Workers

Abstract Background Given the nature of their activities, health care workers (hcws) are at higher risk of contracting influenza and transmitting the disease to their patients. Influenza vaccine (IV) remains the most effective way to prevent influenza and its complications. To the best of our knowledge, no national data on IV coverage among hcws is available in Tunisia. The present study aimed to assess the flu vaccination coverage among Tunisian hcws in the 2018-2019 influenza season and factors associated with IV uptake through a study of knowledge and attitudes related to influenza vaccination. Methods A cross sectional study was conducted in Tunisian primary and secondary health care facilities from March to May 2019. Hcws with direct patient contact were recruited according to a self-weighted multistage sampling. Survey data collection was based on a face to face questionnaire containing both open and closed questions. Results A total of 1231 hcws were enrolled in this study. Among respondents, 15.3% (95% CI: [12.3-17.2]) were vaccinated against influenza during the 2018-2019 influenza season. High confidence regarding vaccine efficacy (OR = 3.5, 95%CI: 2.5-4.8), belief that hcws' influenza immunization may decrease illness and deaths among patients (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.3) and belief that influenza vaccination can reduce work absenteeism (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.4) were associated with a higher IV uptake among hcws. In addition, participants who mentioned hcws as a target group for influenza vaccination (OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.5-2.8) and who were agree that IV is indicated annually for hcws (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.9-4.9) were more likely to receive the IV. Conclusions Influenza vaccination coverage among Tunisian health professionals in 2018-2019 was low. Our findings suggest that knowledge and attitudes regarding influenza vaccine influence vaccine compliance among hcws and should thus be targeted by vaccination campaigns to promote flu vaccine uptake in the health community. Key messages Vaccination coverage among Tunisian healthcare workers was low in the 2018-2019 influenza season. Our findings suggest that knowledge and attitudes regarding influenza vaccine influence vaccine uptake among Tunisian health care workers.

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