Health care personnel’s attitudes and behaviours for vaccination recommendations of health care providers

Abstract

Objective: Although there is no mandatory vaccination schedule for health care workers in Turkey, several vaccines such as seasonal influenza, tetanus, hepatitis B, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), and varicella vaccines are recommended for all healthcare professionals. This study aimed to determine the attitudes and behaviors of health care workers to the recommended vaccines for themselves. Methods: The universe of cross-sectional study was 488 physicians and nurses working at the Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University. The participation rate was 88.6%. Participants' so-ciodemographic characteristics, their attitudes to vaccines required for themselves and behaviors towards vaccination were questioned by a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, ?2, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used in data analysis and multiple analyzes were performed. Results: The mean (±SD) of the attitude score was 19.9±2.5. The rate of having seasonal influenza vaccination every year was 4.8%; the ratio of triple dose hepatitis B and tetanus vaccination was 82.9% and 67.4%, respectively. The ratio of two doses of MMR and varicella vaccination was 56.0% and 40.8%, respectively. Being a resident (OR: 9.7, 95% CI: 3.0-31.9, p<0.001) or a nurse (OR: 12.4, 95% CI:.4-34.7, p<0.001) were risk factors for not having seasonal influenza vaccine every year. For not completing the 3-dose hepatitis B vaccine series, the attitude score against vaccination (OR: 0.8, 95% CI: 0.8-0.9, p=0.005) was a protective factor, while being a nurse (OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1-4.08, p=0.012) or a faculty member (OR: 3.3, 95% CI: 1.4-7.4, p=0.004) was a risk factor. For not completing the 2-dose MMR vaccine series, being a nurse (OR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.5-3.3, p<0.001) and age (OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.04-1.09, p<0.001) were risk factors. For not completing 2-dose varicella vaccine series, age (OR: 1.08, 95% GA: 1.05-1.1, p<0.001) and having no individual over 65 years at home (OR: 2.2, 95% GA: 1.06-4.85, p=0.035) were risk factors. Conclusions: Although the health care workers' attitudes to vaccines required for themselves and behaviors towards vaccination are positive, their vaccination rates are not at the desirable levels. More studies to determine the reasons that lead to low vaccination rates of health workers are needed. © 2019, AVES. All rights reserved.