Nursing

Take a shot: Encouraging flu vaccination among staff

Nurse Leader Weekly, October 21, 2005

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Convincing healthcare workers to receive influenza (flu) vaccinations remains a struggle for organization leaders and regulating bodies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that only 36% of workers received the vaccination in 2003. Flu vaccination reduces infection among workers and thereby death among patients.

Some infection control professionals say cost and convenience are to blame for lack of vaccination. However, the real reason behind it is workers' false notion of invincibility, says Carol Shenold, RN, CIC, an infection control nurse at Deaconess Hospital in Oklahoma City. The solution is education, education, and reeducation-presenting the same information in ever-changing forms to keep healthcare workers interested and informed, she says.

Get the facts

Unfortunately, the 2004 vaccine shortage did little to coerce workers to get vaccinated. "In spite of education, people didn't want the live vaccine because they thought it wasn't as good as the shot," says Shenold. "The truth is, it offers more coverage and for longer. Still people felt they were getting short shrift."

Misinformation such as this puts many in danger, says Shenold. The flu can be life-threatening and cause pandemics. The H2N2 scare-a deadly strain of flu virus sent to laboratories around the world-reminded officials that a lethal outbreak is always one transmission away.

Reluctance to receive vaccinations isn't something that can be cured overnight, Shenold says. "You have to reeducate on a continual basis."

Back to school

Shenold offers educators the following tips:

  • Posters: Make posters visible, then tear them down and put up new ones with the same message.
  • Safety fairs: Offer games and prizes with the same message.
  • E-mails: Messages containing informative material can serve as a quick and effective reminder.
  • Opportunistic postings: Post informational items all over your facility, including in restroom stalls where you have a captive audience. Change the postings frequently.
  • Get help from above: Convince leadership to put a little money toward the effort.

Editor's note: This article is adapted from Briefings on Infection Control, July 2005, HCPro, Inc.



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