Facilitators Identified in Uptake of Flu Vaccine by Healthcare Personnel

Researchers recently conducted a quality improvement project to increase uptake of the influenza vaccine among healthcare personnel at a university student health center. A pre-intervention survey identified facilitators and hurdles to personnel’s uptake of the vaccine. The survey results were used to implement four interventions, and a post-intervention survey was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions. The most frequent facilitators of vaccination cited were protecting self/family, free vaccine, recommended by experts and convenient vaccination process, while the most common hurdle cited was concern about side effects. Post-intervention, the vaccination uptake increased from 71 percent in 2008-2009 to 77 percent in 2009-2010. Free vaccine and convenient vaccination process were rated as the most effective interventions, while education and the declination form used for the project were rated less favorably. The researchers noted the importance of identifying “facilitators and barriers that are unique to health centers to better plan and implement interventions to improve vaccination rates.”