Ngai Sze Wong1, Sing Lee2, Shui Shan Lee3. 1. Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: candy_wong@cuhk.edu.hk. 2. Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: singlee@cuhk.edu.hk. 3. Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: sslee@cuhk.edu.hk.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare the influenza vaccination pattern between clinical and long term care facility (LTCF) nurses. METHODS: Between 2014 and 2018 an annual online survey was administered to nurses after onset of the winter influenza season in Hong Kong. Factors associated with vaccination were examined separately for clinical and LTCF nurses in univariate analyses and multilevel logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Of 4675 responses collected in the 5-year period, 18% came from nurses of LTCF. The overall vaccination rate before the respective influenza season was 32% (34% in 2013/14 to 36% in 2017/18) for LTCF nurses and 38% (32% to 45%) for clinical nurses. Past vaccination history and absence of side effects were generally associated with vaccination uptake. Male gender, student nurses and infrequent patient contacts were significantly associated with vaccination in clinical but not LTCF nurses. A higher proportion of LTCF nurses were not vaccinated because it was not a work requirement. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination coverage among nurses in Hong Kong was persistently below 50% in the last 5 years. In LTCF, strategies for making vaccines easily accessible to nurses should be developed, while nurses with frequent patient contacts should be prioritized for scaling up vaccination.
OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare the influenza vaccination pattern between clinical and long term care facility (LTCF) nurses. METHODS: Between 2014 and 2018 an annual online survey was administered to nurses after onset of the winter influenza season in Hong Kong. Factors associated with vaccination were examined separately for clinical and LTCF nurses in univariate analyses and multilevel logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Of 4675 responses collected in the 5-year period, 18% came from nurses of LTCF. The overall vaccination rate before the respective influenza season was 32% (34% in 2013/14 to 36% in 2017/18) for LTCF nurses and 38% (32% to 45%) for clinical nurses. Past vaccination history and absence of side effects were generally associated with vaccination uptake. Male gender, student nurses and infrequent patient contacts were significantly associated with vaccination in clinical but not LTCF nurses. A higher proportion of LTCF nurses were not vaccinated because it was not a work requirement. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination coverage among nurses in Hong Kong was persistently below 50% in the last 5 years. In LTCF, strategies for making vaccines easily accessible to nurses should be developed, while nurses with frequent patient contacts should be prioritized for scaling up vaccination.