Background: Influenza vaccination of healthcare workers (HCWs) has been recommended for more than 30 years. In 2009, HCWs were designated as a priority group by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Current HCW vaccination rates are 78% across all settings and reach approximately 92% among those employed in hospital settings. Over the last decade, it has become clear that mandatory vaccine policies result in maximal rates of HCW immunization.

Methods: In this observational 10-year study, we describe the implementation of a mandatory influenza vaccination policy in a dedicated quaternary pediatric hospital setting by a multidisciplinary team. We analyzed 10 years of available data from deidentified occupational health records from 2009-2010 through the 2018-2019 influenza seasons. Descriptive statistics were performed using Stata v15 and Excel.

Results: Sustained increases in HCW immunization rates above 99% were observed in the 10 years postimplementation, in addition to a reduction in exemption requests and healthcare-associated influenza. In the year of implementation, 145 (1.6%) HCWs were placed on temporary suspension for failure to receive the vaccine without documentation of an exemption, with 9 (0.06%) subsequently being terminated. Since then, between 0 and 3 HCWs are terminated yearly for failure to receive the vaccine.

Conclusions: Implementation of our mandatory influenza vaccination program succeeded in successfully increasing the proportion of immunized HCWs at a quaternary care children's hospital, reducing annual exemption requests with a small number of terminations secondary to vaccine refusal. Temporal trends suggest a positive impact on the safety of our patients.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa782DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

implementation mandatory
12
mandatory influenza
12
influenza vaccination
12
exemption requests
8
failure receive
8
influenza
6
hcws
5
implementation
4
vaccine
4
influenza vaccine
4

Similar Publications

Background: Cork University Hospital, Ireland's largest teaching hospital, faced challenges in maintaining consistent handover processes in its Acute Mental Health Unit (AMHU). Prior to 2019, handovers relied on informal methods, risking information loss and compromising patient care. This quality improvement (QI) initiative aimed to standardise handover practices using an electronic tool integrated with the ISBAR communication protocol.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Education Research: The Neurohumanities in Training: Integrating a Humanities Curriculum Within Neurology Residency Programs.

Neurol Educ

December 2024

From the Department of Neurology (M.R., C.P.), Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; Department of Neurology (T.G.), Boston Medical Center, MA; Department of Neurology (G.S.P.), University of California San Francisco; Department of Neurology (R.V.A.), University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora; Department of Neurology (A.F., M.G.), The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Department of Neurology (R.A.C.), University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester; Mass General Brigham Neurology Residency Program (G.G.), Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; and Neurocognitive Division (M.P.H.S.), Tufts Medical Center, Boston.

Background And Objectives: Perhaps stemming from the central role of detailed examinations and a focus on the subjective sphere that grounds their clinical practice, neurologists have frequently opined on experiences traditionally a province of humanities. The increasingly technological focus on medical education and care can be seen to devalue the subjective aspects of medicine. As a counter to this, we report on the existence of neurohumanities curricula within neurology residency training.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Antiplatelet drugs, such as clopidogrel, ticagrelor, prasugrel, and acetylsalicylic acid, may be associated with a risk of adverse events (AEs). Vanessa's Law was enacted to strengthen regulations to protect Canadians from drug-related side effects (with mandatory reporting of serious adverse events [SAEs]).

Objective: To determine whether Vanessa's Law has led to an increase in SAE reporting among antiplatelet users.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Concussions are a significant concern in high school athletes. Implementation of effective baseline concussion testing procedures can aid athletic trainers and coaches with timely and accurate concussion diagnosis, as well as being used to develop a personalized treatment plan for postconcussion management. Objective: The purpose of this policy review was to (a) identify the gap between the current baseline concussion testing policy and practices in the high schools throughout the state, (b) highlight opinions that support the importance of and need for mandatory baseline concussion testing in high school athletes, and (c) identify potential revisions to the present policy to change how baseline concussion testing is done.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) may contribute to the high morbidity in people with four-class drug-resistant HIV (4DR-PWH).

Objectives: To explore the probability of MACEs in 4DR-PWH compared with non-4DR controls.

Methods: This was a retrospective, propensity score-matched cohort study on 4DR-PWH (cases) and non-4DR-PWH (controls), on ART, without previous MACEs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!