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Only 2 percent of N.C. health-care institutions surveyed require flu shots for employees
CHAPEL HILL -- Only 2 percent of health-care institutions responding to a survey by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers require their patient-care workers to get annual flu shots.
Dec. 13, 2004
Only 2 percent of N.C. health-care institutions surveyed require flu shots for employees
BY TOM HUGHES
UNC School of Medicine
CHAPEL HILL -- Only 2 percent of health-care institutions responding to a survey by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers require their patient-care workers to get annual flu shots.
In addition, despite the fact that health-care workers are often carriers of influenza to patients they care for, only 38 percent reported that their employers in North Carolina have formal written employee influenza vaccination policies.
“We were frankly surprised to see so few health-care institutions with written policies outlining employee responsibilities for receiving annual flu shots given the known and serious risks of transmitting influenza from providers to patients,” said Dr. Adam O. Goldstein, associate professor of family medicine in UNC’s School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
These results come from a survey of 312 health-care institutions statewide. An article based on the results was published in the November issue of the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology and is available online at www.ichejournal.com.
The survey included five types of institutions that serve elderly, at-risk patients: hospitals, home health agencies, nursing homes, dialysis centers and assisted living facilities. Surveyors contacted 312 institutions, of which 268, or 86 percent, participated in the study.
Hospitals were significantly more likely to report having written employee influenza policies than other health-care institutions, while assisted living centers were significantly less likely to have such policies, the survey found. Barriers to increasing vaccination rates cited by those who responded included fear of side effects, perceived ineffectiveness of the flu vaccine and fear of needles.
Slightly less than half of respondents said they would support statewide laws or facility-wide regulations that would require influenza vaccinations for all health-care workers who have direct patient contact. Those who opposed such requirements considered the decision a personal one, but did not believe legislation would not work or would be difficult to administer. Shortly after the research was conducted, the N.C. General Assembly adopted a bill mandating annual influenza vaccination for employees with patient-care contact at assisted living centers and nursing homes.
“While targeted, educational efforts to different types of health-care institutions should persuade more health-care workers about the benefits and safety of influenza vaccinations, there is a clear role for regulation and legislation such as that adopted by the North Carolina General Assembly to assure patients are maximally protected from influenza transmission from providers,” said Goldstein.
The co-authors of the study were Dr. Jean E. Kincade, research associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine’s Program on Aging and UNC’s School of Nursing; and Dr. George Gamble, research associate professor, and Rachel S. Bearman, research associate, both of the UNC School of Medicine’s department of family medicine.
Note: Contact Goldstein at (919) 966-4090 or adam_goldstein@med.unc.edu.
School of Medicine contact: Stephanie Crayton, (919) 966-2860 or scrayton@unch.unc.edu
