Examining the views of key stakeholders regarding the provision of occupational influenza vaccination for healthcare workers in Australia.

Annual vaccination of hospital healthcare workers (HCWs) may be an effective measure to reduce the transmission of healthcare associated influenza. However, vaccine coverage rates among HCWs in most public Australian hospitals are below satisfactory for a number of reasons. This study aimed to examine the opinions of key health stakeholders on current issues regarding HCW influenza vaccination. A qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews was undertaken with key Australian health stakeholders representing different organizations and sectors involved in influenza vaccination and policy. Amongst the participants, there was overwhelming support for HCW influenza vaccination. They viewed vaccination as one of the most important preventive measures for healthcare associated influenza and generally agreed that vaccination of HCWs reduces the overall risk of transmission to patients. However, there were contradictory attitudes regarding the evidence available for justifying the impact of vaccinating HCWs against influenza. Amongst the stakeholders interviewed, there was support for continuing to promote influenza vaccination for HCWs via the conventional framework. Participants recommended that hospitals continue to use conventional, voluntary strategies to increase vaccine coverage such as education and mobile carts. Given that the World Health Organization has included HCWs as a target group for influenza vaccination, Australian hospitals may need to start considering the use of mandatory policies in the near future.