Evidence-Based Health Care Worker Influenza Vaccination Program.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended all health care workers receive an annual influenza vaccination because nosocomial influenza infection has the ability to increase patient morbidity and mortality. Despite these recommendations by the CDC, vaccination rates have remained low among health care workers. The purpose of the project was to use existing research to investigate barriers to vaccination by health care workers and evidence-based interventions to include in a vaccination program. A systematic review of the literature was conducted, informed by the theoretical frameworks of the health belief model and the health promotion model. Barriers to vaccination were identified by reviewing data from 8 survey-based studies focused on identifying cited barriers from 22,484 health care workers. Evidence-based interventions were identified by reviewing data from 10 interventional studies that varied in significance and study design. Barriers and evidence-based interventions were identified from existing research findings, and only studies that focused on health care workers were used for data collection. Analysis was conducted by identifying study sample, participants, research design, and level of significance, and summarizing findings. The 3 main barriers to vaccination are doubts regarding efficacy, lack of convenience, and fear of adverse reactions. Analyses of evidence-based interventions revealed that health care worker vaccination programs should include health care worker education and a convenient vaccination delivery system to improve vaccination rates. Increasing influenza vaccination rates among health care workers has the ability to improve patient safety by decreasing the potential of nosocomial infection from influenza.