title: Monitoring of health care personnel employee and occupational health immunization program practices in the United States.
abstract: Recent studies have identified concerns with various elements of health care personnel immunization programs, including the handling and management of the vaccine. The purpose of this study was to assess monitoring processes that support evaluation of the care of vaccines in health care settings. An 11-question survey instrument was developed for use in scripted telephone surveys. State health departments in all 50 states in the United States and the District of Columbia were the target audience for the surveys. Data from a total of 47 states were obtained and analyzed. No states reported an existing monitoring process for evaluation of health care personnel immunization programs in their states. Our assessment indicates that vaccine evaluation processes for health care facilities are rare to nonexistent in the United States. Identifying existing practice gaps and resultant opportunities for improvements may be an important safety initiative that protects patients and health care personnel.
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Louisville, KY. Electronic address: ruth.carrico@louisville.edu.
authors.forename: Ruth M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Carrico
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, Louisville, KY.
authors.forename: Nikka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sorrells
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Louisville, KY.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Westhusing
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Louisville, KY.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wiemken
mesh_terms: D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Health care personnel immunization; Health care worker immunization; Vaccine monitoring; Vaccine storage