Flu in 15: a novel 15-minute education program to promote acceptance of the influenza vaccine among health care workers.

Introduction And Rationale: A performance improvement project was undertaken to increase health care worker (HCW) influenza vaccination acceptance rates in the long-term care setting by using a novel 15-minute education intervention called the "Flu in 15." As a core principle, we taught that more Americans die from complications of influenza than hepatitis B, yet there remains individual reluctance and barriers to achieve high acceptance rates of influenza vaccination among HCWs.

Methods: During chance encounters we offered the Flu in 15 in-service to all HCWs at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Care Center including certified nursing assistants (also called geriatric nursing assistants), registered nurses, registered dieticians, environment staff, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists, social workers, and administrators.