Improving Compliance with Influenza Vaccination of Health Care Workers

This week the Joint Commission unveiled a challenge to American hospitals to immunize more health care workers against  influenza.  “100% vaccination rates among employees and patients” has always been the goal in health care organizations but now it is time to pump up the compliance from the typical rates of 30-40%.  At the APIC international conference in June, we heard compelling research outcomes that indicate that high immunization rates of hospital employees produces lower mortality rates in hospitalized patients.  This research was passionately presented by Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.  Although education about influenza and its complications is an important part of the process of getting employees to get vaccinated, the most important factor in achieving compliance among employees is the endorsement, participation and support of the administration of the healthcare organization.  This has prompted a growing number of hospitals to make influenza vaccination mandatory for all employees and volunteers.  That kind of commitment takes a lot of courage but it has been shown to be an effective strategy for protecting hospitalized patients and keeping employees on the job during flu season.

As adults, we usually “catch” influenza from our children and grandchildren.  They bring it home from school – “that great mixing pot of nanobugs in a community” – typically, in January when everyone returns from holiday vacation amplifying the infection in the school population.  Hospitalized patients and residents of long-term care facilities, usually “catch” influenza from the employees who unintentionally transport the influenza virus from their homes to the workplace.

Improving influenza vaccination compliance is the project that every healthcare organization and community must begin to address this month.   Nanobugs, inc hopes to help institutions promote compliance with our influenza nanobug.  This nanobug was deliberately created to stimulate people to develop their own strategy to avoid this potential pandemic troublemaker and therefore promote personal health and wellbeing.  The influenza nanobug and its’ slogan, “It gives me a kick, to make you sick!” is intended to be one of those nanobugs “you love to hate”.  (It is better to hate the pathogen than to hate the institutional policy-makers, right?)

One idea we champion, is to put an influenza virus tattoo on the forearm of each person who gets a shot (not on their hand – they might not wash as ambitiously as they try to preserve the tattoo.)  The tattoo will wear off in about 10 days.  At that time the vaccine will have stimulated the body’s production of antibodies to influenza and the vaccine will be able to handle an invasion of influenza virus. We have a huge supply of influenza tattoos on hand if you want to use this tool in your strategic plan.  The images of the influenza nanobug, the profile information and the animation are also available to you for a fresh approach to improving compliance.  Please comment with ideas and successes in avchieving compliance in your setting.

This entry was posted on September 5th, 2008 at 12:00 am. RSS | Back to Blog Homepage.

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