| It is estimated that less than 40% of healthcare personnel (HCPs) receive the influenza vaccination annually. That means a staggering 60% of HCPs fail to get the vaccination. HCPs that do not receive the annual influenza vaccination are putting patients, coworkers and their families at risk. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived barriers preventing HCPs from receiving the influenza vaccination, as well as the perceived benefits of receiving the vaccination, in order to implement strategies that would increase the vaccination rate. An experimental before and after design was utilized based on the Health Belief Model (HBM). Prior to the vaccination season, surveys were administered to the nursing staff (n = 118) in order to elicit the barriers and benefits of receiving the vaccine. Once these data were collected and analyzed, strategies were implemented in hopes of increasing the vaccination rate. After the vaccination season post-surveys (n = 74) were distributed to see if the strategies implemented helped increase the vaccination rates throughout the organization. Both surveys reported at least 81% of the respondents had received the vaccination in the past. The surveys also reported that 94% of the respondents viewed self-protection as a reason to get the vaccine. The barriers identified for those that did not receive the vaccine were fear of side effects pre-survey at 50%, post-survey 23.5%, and the perception that the HCP does not get sick at pre-survey 42.3%, and 29.4% post-survey. |
