Factors Influencing H1N1 Vaccination Among Primary Health Care Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Primary health care workers (PHCW) are the front-liners in any infectious disease outbreaks. The recent outbreak of H1N1 influenza demonstrated that uptake of H1N1 vaccination remained low amongst PCHW despite its proven effectiveness. This trend is worrying as PHCW are the first point of contact in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of preventive medicine 2013-06, Vol.4 (6), p.664-670
Main Authors: Aziz, Noor Azah, Muhamad, Shanaz, Manaf, Mohd Rizak Abd, Hamid, Mohd Zaini Abd
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cross-sectional studies
Epidemics
Health care
Immunization
Influenza A
Influenza A (H1N1) vaccination
Linings
Medical personnel
Occupational health
Original
Outbreaks
Perception
practice
Preventive medicine
primary health care workers
Regression analysis
Risk perception
Vaccination
Vaccines
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Summary:Primary health care workers (PHCW) are the front-liners in any infectious disease outbreaks. The recent outbreak of H1N1 influenza demonstrated that uptake of H1N1 vaccination remained low amongst PCHW despite its proven effectiveness. This trend is worrying as PHCW are the first point of contact in any emerging outbreak of future influenza epidemic. To investigate factors influencing willingness of H1N1 vaccination amongst PHCW. A cross-sectional survey using self-reported questionnaire assessing perception and practice towards H1N1 Influenza A vaccination. A score of 34/50 was used as a cut-off score that divide good and poor perception. Logistic regression analysis used to explore the association between acceptance to be vaccinated and chosen variables. The mean age was 33.91 (SD: 8.20) with mean year of service of 9.23 (SD: 8.0). Acceptance of H1N1 vaccination was 86.3%. A total of 85.9% perceived the vaccination can prevent serious disease. Willingness to be vaccinated influenced by perception at risk of having illness (OR: 10.182, CI: 1.64-63.23, P 0.013) and need for vaccination (OR: 11.35, CI: 4.67-27.56, P < 0.0001). PCHW were generally willing to be vaccinated should H1N1 Influenza epidemic emerges in the future. However, acceptance of vaccination was influenced by factors of benefit to prevent illness and reduction of spread of the illness. Fear of side-effects remained a barrier toward acceptance which should be taken into account in planning of preparation for future wave of outbreak.
ISSN:2008-7802
2008-8213