Table 3.
Attitudes and beliefs regarding influenza vaccination pre- and post-intervention (generalized linear mixed effect models)
| Survey respondents (N = 828) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-intervention | Post-intervention | OR† (95% CI) ‡ | |
| N: | 644 | 524 | |
| Attitude | (%) | (%) | |
| I find it important that: | |||
| • HCWs§ do not infect residents. | 91.6 | 90.2 | 0.2 (0.6–0.8)* |
| • All HCWs are vaccinated against influenza to ensure continuity of care. | 56.0 | 57.3 | 1.0 (0.7–1.4) |
| • HCWs have the freedom to decide whether or not to have the influenza vaccine. | 79.9 | 78.2 | 0.8 (0.4–1.7) |
| I consider influenza vaccination important as it is my duty not to harm residents | 54.8 | 55.8 | 1.1 (0.8–1.4) |
| I think influenza vaccination should be mandatory for HCWs | 20.6 | 22.4 | 1.8 (0.8–3.8) |
| Advantages of influenza vaccination | (%) | (%) | |
| Vaccination against influenza gives me confidence that: | |||
| • I will not get influenza | 58.4 | 50.4 | 1.1 (0.8–1.5) |
| • I will not infect residents | 57.3 | 59.8 | 1.2 (0.9–1.6) |
| • I will not infect my family | 58.1 | 59.6 | 1.1 (0.8–1.5) |
| I find it important that all HCWs are vaccinated in order to avoid increased workload | 52.5 | 57.5 | 1.3 (1.0–1.8)° |
| Perceived barriers against vaccination | (%) | (%) | |
| I think influenza is not dangerous to me | 21.2 | 15.0 | 0.2 (0.1–0.5)*** |
| Vaccination weakens my immune system | 25.3 | 23.3 | 0.7 (0.4–1.4) |
| I can get the flu from the vaccine | 29.8 | 25.7 | 0.8 (0.6–1.1) |
| I oppose vaccination in general | 10.8 | 11.3 | 0.3 (0.1–0.9)* |
| I am especially against vaccination in HCWs | 3.9 | 3.4 | 0.4 (0.1–2.0) |
| I think my employer only offers influenza vaccination to reduce costs | 6.1 | 5.3 | 1.8 (0.5–6.0) ¥ |
| If I take up influenza vaccination once, I have to do this every year | 26.0 | 19.1 | 0.2 (0.1–0.3)*** |
| I would expect to have side effects if I got vaccinated against influenza | 21.2 | 16.7 | 0.4 (0.2–0.9)* |
| I think HCW vaccination is of little use as residents frequently have visitors. | 17.0 | 14.0 | 0.3 (0.1–0.7)** |
| I think that LTCFs only implement influenza vaccination to prevent HWCs from being sick. | 28.2 | 20.9 | 0.6 (0.5–0.9)** |
| Perceived susceptibility to influenza | (%) | (%) | |
| I think I have a high chance of getting influenza | 37.2 | 37.2 | 1.0 (0.7 − 1.3) |
| I think influenza is very dangerous for my residents | 88.6 | 88.3 | 0.7 (0.4–2.0) |
| I think I have a high chance to infect residents | 73.0 | 74.4 | 1.0 (0.5–2.0) |
| I think HCWS have an increased risk of getting ill during an influenza epidemic | 79.0 | 73.1 | 0.4 (0.2–0.8)* |
| I think that when I am vaccinated against the flu, I have less chance to acquire influenza compared to vaccinated residents | 45.7 | 46.2 | 1.0 (0.8–1.3) |
† Odds Ratio (OR) from a generalized linear mixed effects model with subject ID nested within LTCF as a random factor, except for ¥ because the model with nested effects did not converge: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, °p < 0,1 (trend)
‡CI: confidence interval; §HCW: Healthcare worker.
For each item, between 1.7% and 5.4% of the pre-intervention respondents and between 2.7 and 5.3 of the post-intervention respondents did not complete the particular question.