Behaviours regarding preventive measures against pandemic H1N1 influenza among Italian healthcare workers, October 2009

A survey on attitudes and behaviours towards preventive measures against pandemic H1N1 influenza 2009 was carried out during the month of October 2009 in Italy through an online questionnaire adapted to the Italian situation from a similar survey of the Harvard School of Public Health in the United States (US). Results show that the intention to get vaccinated against pandemic H1N1 influenza 2009 is generally low and that there are differences in attitudes and behaviours towards preventive measures against pandemic H1N1 influenza 2009 between physicians and nurses, especially concerning vaccination. Differences relate also to sex, region of residence and marital status.

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The Severity of Pandemic H1N1 Influenza in the United States, from April to July 2009: A Bayesian Analysis

PLoS Medicine ◽

10.1371/journal.pmed.1000207 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (12) ◽

pp. e1000207 ◽

Cited By ~ 205

Author(s):

Anne M. Presanis ◽

Daniela De Angelis ◽

Angela Hagy ◽

Carrie Reed ◽

Steven Riley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Bayesian Analysis ◽

H1n1 Influenza ◽

The United States ◽

Pandemic H1n1 ◽

Pandemic H1n1 Influenza

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Pandemic H1N1 influenza: predicting the course of a pandemic and assessing the efficacy of the planned vaccination programme in the United States

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/ese.14.41.19358-en ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 14 (41) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

S Towers ◽

Z Feng

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Influenza A ◽

Influenza Pandemic ◽

Vaccination Campaign ◽

H1n1 Influenza ◽

The United States ◽

Pandemic H1n1 ◽

Pandemic H1n1 Influenza ◽

Influenza A H1n1 ◽

Control And Prevention

We use data on confirmed cases of pandemic influenza A(H1N1), disseminated by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(US CDC), to fit the parameters of a seasonally forced Susceptible, Infective, Recovered (SIR) model. We use the resulting model to predict the course of the H1N1 influenza pandemic in autumn 2009, and we assess the efficacy of the planned CDC H1N1 vaccination campaign. The model predicts that there will be a significant wave in autumn, with 63% of the population being infected, and that this wave will peak so early that the planned CDC vaccination campaign will likely not have a large effect on the total number of people ultimately infected by the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus.

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Influenza Vaccination and Intention to Receive the Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Vaccine among Healthcare Workers of British Columbia, Canada: A Cross-Sectional Study

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1086/655465 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 31 (10) ◽

pp. 1017-1024 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Fariba Kaboli ◽

George Astrakianakis ◽

Guiyun Li ◽

Jaime Guzman ◽

Monika Naus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Influenza Vaccine ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Seasonal Influenza ◽

H1n1 Influenza ◽

Pandemic H1n1 ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

H1n1 Vaccine ◽

Pandemic H1n1 Influenza ◽

To Receive

Objective.To assess healthcare workers' attitudes and concerns regarding seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines in order to improve vaccination campaign communications.Design.Cross-sectional survey.Setting.All 6 health authorities in British Columbia, Canada.Methods.An anonymous, self-administered online survey was conducted from August 30 through September 30, 2009. Question topics included demographic characteristics, factors influencing acceptance of seasonal influenza vaccine, factors influencing intentions to accept pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine, and knowledge and concerns regarding the effect of the influenza pandemic.Participants.All 96,217 British Columbia healthcare workers were eligible to participate.Results.A volunteer sample of 4,046 healthcare workers returned the survey; 3,563 (88%) were women, 58% were under 50 years old (mean age ± standard deviation, 45.3 ± 10.9 years), 3,152 of 4,023 (79%) had 5 or more years of experience in their profession, 1,853 of 4,023 (46%) were nurses, and 2,833 (70%) had been vaccinated against seasonal influenza the previous year. Two thousand eight hundred (69%) respondents reported intending to receive the pandemic H1N1 vaccine. The most important predictor of this intention was having received the seasonal vaccine the previous year (odds ratio [OR], 6.25 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 5.39-7.26]). Worry about making loved ones ill was the only attitude associated with intention to receive the pandemic H1N1 vaccine (adjusted OR, 1.38 [95% CI, 1.27-1.50]). Concerns with vaccine safety (adjusted OR, 0.31 [95% CI, 0.25-0.39]) and belief “that H1N1 is not severe enough” (adjusted OR, 0.29 [95% CI, 0.26-0.32]) were independently associated with the intention to reject the pandemic H1N1 vaccine.Conclusions.Vaccination campaigns for pandemic H1N1 vaccine should use messages that emphasize the risk of illness among younger people and the opportunity to protect loved ones by getting the vaccine and should address concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.

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