title: GET POKED: Comparing an Incentive-Based Flu Campaign with Vaccinate-or-Mask Policies to Boost Influenza Vaccination Rates Among Healthcare Workers.
abstract: The median influenza vaccination rate for Toronto acute care facilities in 2013/14 was only 44%, well below the target rate of 90%. While many Toronto hospitals adopted a vaccinate-or-mask policy, Trillium Health Partners (THP) opted to create a multimodal incentives-based flu campaign entitled GET POKED. This campaign, which required significant additional resourcing, only increased our vaccination rate by 10%. While having some modest success, we believe it is unlikely that non-policy based interventions will efficiently and sustainably raise flu vaccine rates. Vaccinate-or-mask policies, while having some inherent challenges, may be worth exploring as part of THP's larger flu-prevention strategy.
authors.affiliation: General internal medicine specialist at Trillium Health Partners and a clinician scientist at the Institute for Better Health. She is also an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine.
authors.forename: Seema
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marwaha
authors.affiliation: Research associate for the Institute for Better Health. He manages and supports research projects at the Institute with a focus on preventative care.
authors.forename: Bailey
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lorv
authors.affiliation: Was the manager of Trillium's Employee, Health, Safety & Wellness department for the duration of this project.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Henseleit
authors.affiliation: Community health development practitioner working both in domestic and global contexts. She supports community initiatives and promotes health strategies for marginalized groups.
authors.forename: Ngozi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iroanyah
mesh_terms: D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008397:Masks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009042:Motivation; D009864:Ontario; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D007252:Influenza Vaccines