Influenza and hepatitis B vaccination coverage among healthcare workers in Croatian hospitals: a series of cross-sectional surveys, 2006–2011

BMC Infectious Diseases

Research Article

Valerija Stamenic¹  Smilja Kalenic²  Neven Papic³  Rok Civljak⁴  Ilija Kuzman⁴  Josip Car⁵ 

[1] Department for Projects and Programs, Directorate for Medical Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ksaver 200a, 10 000, Zagreb, Croatia;Department of Bacteriology, Virology and Parasitology, Medical School, University of Zagreb, Šalata 3, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia;Dr. Fran Mihaljevic University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Mirogojska 8, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia;Dr. Fran Mihaljevic University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Mirogojska 8, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia;Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical School, University of Zagreb, Šalata 3, 10 000, Zagreb, Croatia;School of Public Health, Imperial College London, Reynolds building, London, UK;

关键词: Influenza;    Hepatitis B;    Healthcare workers;    Vaccination;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2334-13-520

 received in 2013-07-30, accepted in 2013-10-30,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundHealthcare workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of exposure to and transmission of infectious diseases. Vaccination lowers morbidity and mortality of HCWs and their patients. To assess vaccination coverage for influenza and hepatitis B virus (HBV) among HCWs in Croatian hospitals, we conducted yearly nationwide surveys.MethodsFrom 2006 to 2011, all 66 Croatian public hospitals, representing 43–60% of all the HCWs in Croatia, were included. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal–Wallis analysis of variance, Dunn’s multiple comparison analysis and the chi-square test, as appropriate.ResultsThe median seasonal influenza vaccination coverage rates in pre-pandemic (2006–2008) seasons were 36%, 25% and 29%, respectively. By occupation, influenza vaccination rates among physicians were 33 ± 21%, 33 ± 22% among graduate nurses, 30±34% among other HCWs, 26 ± 21% among housekeeping and the lowest, 23 ± 17%, among practical nurses (p < 0.01). In 2009–2010 season, seasonal influenza vaccination coverage was 30%, while overall vaccination coverage against pandemic influenza was fewer than 5%. Median vaccination coverage in the post-pandemic seasons of 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 decreased to 15% and 14%, respectively (reduction of 24% and 35%, respectively, p < 0.0001). Meanwhile, the median mandatory HBV vaccination coverage was 98%, albeit with considerable differences according to work setting (range 19–100%) and occupation (range 4–100%).ConclusionsWe found substantial year-on-year variations in seasonal influenza vaccination rates, with reduction in post pandemic influenza seasons. HBV vaccination is satisfactory compared to seasonal influenza vaccination coverage, although substantial variations by occupation and work setting were observed. These findings highlight the need for national strategies that optimize vaccination coverage among HCWs in Croatian hospitals. Further studies are needed to establish the potential role of mandatory vaccination for seasonal influenza.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Civljak et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.