TY - JOUR
T1 - Knowledge of and attitudes to influenza in unvaccinated primary care physicians and nurses
T2 - A cross-sectional study
AU - CIBERESP Working Group for the Survey on Influenza Vaccination in Primary Health Care Workers
AU - Domínguez, Angela
AU - Godoy, Pere
AU - Castilla, Jesús
AU - Mayoral, José María
AU - Soldevila, Núria
AU - Torner, Núria
AU - Toledo, Diana
AU - Astray, Jenaro
AU - Tamames, Sonia
AU - García-Gutiérrez, Susana
AU - González-Candelas, Fernando
AU - Martín, Vicente
AU - Díaz, José
AU - Alonso, Jordi
AU - Baricot, Maretva
AU - Caylà, Joan
AU - Lafuente, Sara
AU - Cenoz, Manuel García
AU - Baz, Iván Martínez
AU - Quintana, José María
AU - González, Amaia Bilbao
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, Institute of Health Carlos III, Programme of Research on Influenza A/H1N1 (Grant GR09/0030), and the Catalan Agency for the Management of Grants for University Research (AGAUR Grant number 2009/ SGR 42). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, the decision to publish, or the preparation of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Landes Bioscience.
PY - 2014/8/1
Y1 - 2014/8/1
N2 - Primary healthcare workers, especially nurses, are exposed to the vast majority of patients with influenza and play an important role in vaccinating patients. Healthcare workers' misconceptions about influenza and influenza vaccination have been reported as possible factors associated with lack of vaccination. The objective of this study was to compare the characteristics of unvaccinated physicians and unvaccinated nurses in the 2011-2012 influenza season. We performed an anonymous web survey of Spanish primary healthcare workers in 2012. Information was collected on vaccination and knowledge of and attitudes to the influenza vaccine. Multivariate analysis was performed using unconditional logistic regression. We included 461 unvaccinated physicians and 402 unvaccinated nurses. Compared with unvaccinated nurses, unvaccinated physicians had more frequently received seasonal influenza vaccination in the preceding seasons (aOR 1.58; 95% CI 1.11-2.25), and more frequently believed that vaccination of high risk individuals is effective in reducing complications (aOR 2.53; 95% CI 1.30-4.95) and that influenza can be a serious illness (aOR 1.65; 95% CI 1.17-2.32). In contrast, unvaccinated physicians were less concerned about infecting patients (aOR 0.62; 95% CI 0.40-0.96). Unvaccinated nurses had more misconceptions than physicians about influenza and the influenza vaccine and more doubts about the severity of annual influenza epidemics in patients with high risk conditions and the prevention of complications by means of the influenza vaccination. For unvaccinated physicians, strategies to improve vaccination coverage should stress the importance of physicians as a possible source of infection of their patients. The effectiveness of influenza vaccination of high risk persons should be emphasized in nurses.
AB - Primary healthcare workers, especially nurses, are exposed to the vast majority of patients with influenza and play an important role in vaccinating patients. Healthcare workers' misconceptions about influenza and influenza vaccination have been reported as possible factors associated with lack of vaccination. The objective of this study was to compare the characteristics of unvaccinated physicians and unvaccinated nurses in the 2011-2012 influenza season. We performed an anonymous web survey of Spanish primary healthcare workers in 2012. Information was collected on vaccination and knowledge of and attitudes to the influenza vaccine. Multivariate analysis was performed using unconditional logistic regression. We included 461 unvaccinated physicians and 402 unvaccinated nurses. Compared with unvaccinated nurses, unvaccinated physicians had more frequently received seasonal influenza vaccination in the preceding seasons (aOR 1.58; 95% CI 1.11-2.25), and more frequently believed that vaccination of high risk individuals is effective in reducing complications (aOR 2.53; 95% CI 1.30-4.95) and that influenza can be a serious illness (aOR 1.65; 95% CI 1.17-2.32). In contrast, unvaccinated physicians were less concerned about infecting patients (aOR 0.62; 95% CI 0.40-0.96). Unvaccinated nurses had more misconceptions than physicians about influenza and the influenza vaccine and more doubts about the severity of annual influenza epidemics in patients with high risk conditions and the prevention of complications by means of the influenza vaccination. For unvaccinated physicians, strategies to improve vaccination coverage should stress the importance of physicians as a possible source of infection of their patients. The effectiveness of influenza vaccination of high risk persons should be emphasized in nurses.
KW - Attitudes
KW - Influenza vaccination
KW - Knowledge
KW - Nurses
KW - Physicians
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84908452854&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84908452854&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4161/hv.29142
DO - 10.4161/hv.29142
M3 - Article
C2 - 25424945
AN - SCOPUS:84908452854
VL - 10
SP - 2378
EP - 2386
JO - Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
JF - Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
SN - 2164-5515
IS - 8
ER -