title: Establish the habit: influenza vaccination for health care personnel.
abstract: Influenza vaccination of health care personnel (HCP) is a patient safety issue, but the national rate is only 42%. Following an intervention in 2006-2007, HCP in a large health system were surveyed. Self-reported influenza vaccination rate was 61.6% overall, did not differ by race, education level, or employment status but was higher for older HCP (> or =50 years; p=.002). In logistic regression, the strongest predictor of vaccination was receiving influenza vaccine the previous year, although other factors were significantly associated for younger and older HCP groups. Establishing the influenza vaccination habit using age-based targeted messages may be the most effective way to increase rates for HCP without mandates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. tnowalk@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Mary Patricia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Nowalk
authors.forename: Chyongchiou J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Richard K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: Dwight E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: Mahlon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raymund
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Tanis
authors.forename: Jay D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Harper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires