clinical focus
Student nurses’ intention to get the influenza vaccine Nicola Cornally, Elizabeth Ann Deasy, Geraldine McCarthy, Joe Moran and Elizabeth Weathers
Abstract
Introduction: There is no national or international recommendation for nursing students to receive the influenza vaccine. Nurses are among the group of health professionals who traditionally have a low uptake of the vaccine and who arguably have the closest contact with patients. Aim: To investigate the uptake of influenza vaccination among student nurses, explore reasons for either declining or receiving it in the past, and establish if and to what extent the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) can explain vaccination behaviour. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, correlational design was used. Data were collected with a researcher-developed questionnaire; 131 student nurses participated. Ethical approval was gained. Results: 79% (n=104) had never received the vaccine. The most common reason was ‘I don’t need it as I rarely get ill’. Low mean ‘intention’ scores indicated that students were unlikely to get the vaccine once qualified. Past behaviour was significantly associated with future intentions. The TPB explained 41.9% of the variance in intention. Attitude emerged as the greatest predictor. Conclusion: Student nurses do not have strong intentions to get the vaccine. Results serve to guide future educational and occupational health initiatives, which would benefit from a framework based on TPB. Key words: Influenza vaccination ■ Student nurses ■ Attitudes ■ Theory of planned behaviour
D
© 2013 MA Healthcare Ltd
uring the annual influenza season, nosocomial transmission of the virus is an important cause of patient morbidity and mortality, particularly among high-risk patient groups, including the elderly and the immunocompromised (Potter et al, 1997; Kunisaki and Janoff, 2009). Attaining high
Nicola Cornally is Research Support Officer, Clinical Research Nurse, Centre for Gerontology and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Elizabeth Ann Deasy is GP Trainee, Cork Specialist Training Programme for General Practice, Geraldine McCarthey is Emeritus Professor and Chairperson of the South/South West Hospital Group, Catherine McAuley School of Nursing and Midwifery, Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, Joe Moran is P/T Lecturer in General Practice, Dept. of General Practice, School of Medicine, and Elizabeth Weathers is PhD Student, Catherine McAuley School of Nursing and Midwifery, Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, University College Cork Accepted for publication: November 2013
British Journal of Nursing, 2013, Vol 22, No 21
vaccination coverage among healthcare workers is vital in reducing the transmission of infectious diseases (Lu and Euler, 2011) and reduction in work-related sick leave (Carman et al, 2000; Nichol et al, 2009). The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, 2010) states that healthcare workers should be offered vaccination against influenza on a yearly basis. This recommendation is echoed by the World Health Organization (WHO) (2005), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Advisory Committee on Immunisation (Pearson et al, 2006). Nursing students are a group who are in close contact with patients, yet uniquely positioned in the college environment where education can be delivered early on and attitudes shaped towards future vaccination behaviour. At present, there is no national or international recommendation for nursing students to receive the influenza vaccine, although it is routinely encouraged within nursing schools and clinical settings. In Ireland,
there is no centralised national reporting of healthcare worker vaccine uptake.
Literature review A review of the literature was done to determine current uptake rates, attitudes, beliefs and intentions towards influenza vaccination. Literature on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was also sourced, as this is the most widely used theoretical framework when investigating health-related behaviour. Searches were done in PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Search terms used included: nursing, nurses, healthcare workers, students, influenza vaccine, theory of planned behaviour. Search results were limited to articles in English. A brief analysis of pertinent empirical and theoretical research will be presented, followed by a description of the study methodology and results.
Vaccination compliance among health professionals A cross-sectional survey by Christini et al (2007), in two tertiary-care teaching hospitals in the USA, found that 63% of medical students, 69% of physicians and 46% of nurses were vaccinated. Physicians and medical students were more likely to be vaccinated than all other groups (p
Student nurses’ intention to get the influenza vaccine Nicola Cornally, Elizabeth Ann Deasy, Geraldine McCarthy, Joe Moran and Elizabeth Weathers
Abstract
Introduction: There is no national or international recommendation for nursing students to receive the influenza vaccine. Nurses are among the group of health professionals who traditionally have a low uptake of the vaccine and who arguably have the closest contact with patients. Aim: To investigate the uptake of influenza vaccination among student nurses, explore reasons for either declining or receiving it in the past, and establish if and to what extent the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) can explain vaccination behaviour. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, correlational design was used. Data were collected with a researcher-developed questionnaire; 131 student nurses participated. Ethical approval was gained. Results: 79% (n=104) had never received the vaccine. The most common reason was ‘I don’t need it as I rarely get ill’. Low mean ‘intention’ scores indicated that students were unlikely to get the vaccine once qualified. Past behaviour was significantly associated with future intentions. The TPB explained 41.9% of the variance in intention. Attitude emerged as the greatest predictor. Conclusion: Student nurses do not have strong intentions to get the vaccine. Results serve to guide future educational and occupational health initiatives, which would benefit from a framework based on TPB. Key words: Influenza vaccination ■ Student nurses ■ Attitudes ■ Theory of planned behaviour
D
© 2013 MA Healthcare Ltd
uring the annual influenza season, nosocomial transmission of the virus is an important cause of patient morbidity and mortality, particularly among high-risk patient groups, including the elderly and the immunocompromised (Potter et al, 1997; Kunisaki and Janoff, 2009). Attaining high
Nicola Cornally is Research Support Officer, Clinical Research Nurse, Centre for Gerontology and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Elizabeth Ann Deasy is GP Trainee, Cork Specialist Training Programme for General Practice, Geraldine McCarthey is Emeritus Professor and Chairperson of the South/South West Hospital Group, Catherine McAuley School of Nursing and Midwifery, Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, Joe Moran is P/T Lecturer in General Practice, Dept. of General Practice, School of Medicine, and Elizabeth Weathers is PhD Student, Catherine McAuley School of Nursing and Midwifery, Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, University College Cork Accepted for publication: November 2013
British Journal of Nursing, 2013, Vol 22, No 21
vaccination coverage among healthcare workers is vital in reducing the transmission of infectious diseases (Lu and Euler, 2011) and reduction in work-related sick leave (Carman et al, 2000; Nichol et al, 2009). The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, 2010) states that healthcare workers should be offered vaccination against influenza on a yearly basis. This recommendation is echoed by the World Health Organization (WHO) (2005), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Advisory Committee on Immunisation (Pearson et al, 2006). Nursing students are a group who are in close contact with patients, yet uniquely positioned in the college environment where education can be delivered early on and attitudes shaped towards future vaccination behaviour. At present, there is no national or international recommendation for nursing students to receive the influenza vaccine, although it is routinely encouraged within nursing schools and clinical settings. In Ireland,
there is no centralised national reporting of healthcare worker vaccine uptake.
Literature review A review of the literature was done to determine current uptake rates, attitudes, beliefs and intentions towards influenza vaccination. Literature on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was also sourced, as this is the most widely used theoretical framework when investigating health-related behaviour. Searches were done in PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Search terms used included: nursing, nurses, healthcare workers, students, influenza vaccine, theory of planned behaviour. Search results were limited to articles in English. A brief analysis of pertinent empirical and theoretical research will be presented, followed by a description of the study methodology and results.
Vaccination compliance among health professionals A cross-sectional survey by Christini et al (2007), in two tertiary-care teaching hospitals in the USA, found that 63% of medical students, 69% of physicians and 46% of nurses were vaccinated. Physicians and medical students were more likely to be vaccinated than all other groups (p
