The role of healthcare provider attitudes in increasing willingness to accept seasonal influenza vaccine policy changes.
This research explored the role of attitudes in acceptance of organizational change initiatives.



A survey assessed factors associated with health care provider (HCP) likelihood to accept seasonal influenza vaccine policy changes. We evaluated the impact of knowledge and individual attitudes on this outcome measure.



Knowledge of seasonal influenza vaccine and influenza recommendations was a significant predictor of HCP's attitudes toward vaccine at the individual (p<0.001), organizational (p<0.05), and legislative level (p<0.05). Mixed results were obtained when investigating the impact of knowledge on actual willingness to accept vaccine, suggesting that knowledge was only a significant predictor at the organizational (p<0.05) and legislative levels (p<0.05). Attitudes fully mediated the impact of knowledge at both the organizational and legislative levels.



Knowledge of seasonal influenza and vaccine recommendations is an important, but insufficient predictor of willingness to accept policy change.
Department of Psychology, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Canadian Center for Vaccinology, The IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Jason M
JM
Slaunwhite
Department of Psychology, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Canadian Center for Vaccinology, The IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Electronic address: steven.smith@smu.ca.
Steven M
SM
Smith
Canadian Center for Vaccinology, The IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; School of Nursing, The IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, The IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Beth A
BA
Halperin
Canadian Center for Vaccinology, The IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, The IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, The IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Joanne M
JM
Langley
Canadian Center for Vaccinology, The IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, The IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Scott A
SA
Halperin
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D037141:Mandatory Programs / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012621:Seasons; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014611:Vaccination / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*
D007252:Influenza Vaccines
Behavioural interventions; Influenza vaccination; Mandatory vaccination legislation; Vaccination policy