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Willingness of European healthcare workers to undergo vaccination against seasonal influenza: current situation and suggestions for improvement

Uptake of vaccination against seasonal influenza in healthcare workers (HCWs) is, in general, low (vaccine coverage of 6–54%), as is awareness of its importance, and has been decreasing in most European Union (EU) countries in recent years. By virtue of their working environment, HCWs are at an incr...

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Autor principal: Kassianos, George
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Just Medical Media Limited 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4316812/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25657810
http://dx.doi.org/10.7573/dic.212268
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author Kassianos, George
author_facet Kassianos, George
author_sort Kassianos, George
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description Uptake of vaccination against seasonal influenza in healthcare workers (HCWs) is, in general, low (vaccine coverage of 6–54%), as is awareness of its importance, and has been decreasing in most European Union (EU) countries in recent years. By virtue of their working environment, HCWs are at an increased risk of influenza infection and of subsequently transmitting the virus to vulnerable patients, in whom disease burden is significant. It could be argued that a similar or higher target vaccination rate to that recommended for older age groups and people with chronic medical conditions (75%) should be applied to HCWs, and the European Council recommends Member States to improve vaccination coverage in this population. In this context, better education of HCWs is needed to increase awareness and highlight the importance of HCW vaccination for the benefit of public health, particularly for their patients, who may be at risk of serious complications that could lead to disability or death. Secondary to these professional responsibilities, personal benefits (as well as benefits to close family and friends) should also be emphasised. Misconceptions that create barriers to vaccination need to be discussed openly and objections placed in the context of public health.
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spelling pubmed-43168122015-02-05 Willingness of European healthcare workers to undergo vaccination against seasonal influenza: current situation and suggestions for improvement Kassianos, George Drugs Context Position Paper Uptake of vaccination against seasonal influenza in healthcare workers (HCWs) is, in general, low (vaccine coverage of 6–54%), as is awareness of its importance, and has been decreasing in most European Union (EU) countries in recent years. By virtue of their working environment, HCWs are at an increased risk of influenza infection and of subsequently transmitting the virus to vulnerable patients, in whom disease burden is significant. It could be argued that a similar or higher target vaccination rate to that recommended for older age groups and people with chronic medical conditions (75%) should be applied to HCWs, and the European Council recommends Member States to improve vaccination coverage in this population. In this context, better education of HCWs is needed to increase awareness and highlight the importance of HCW vaccination for the benefit of public health, particularly for their patients, who may be at risk of serious complications that could lead to disability or death. Secondary to these professional responsibilities, personal benefits (as well as benefits to close family and friends) should also be emphasised. Misconceptions that create barriers to vaccination need to be discussed openly and objections placed in the context of public health. Just Medical Media Limited 2015-01-21 /pmc/articles/PMC4316812/ /pubmed/25657810 http://dx.doi.org/10.7573/dic.212268 Text en Copyright © 2015 Kassianos G Distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License Deed CC BY NC ND 3.0 which allows anyone to copy, distribute, and transmit the article provided it is properly attributed in the manner specified below. No other uses without permission.
spellingShingle Position Paper
Kassianos, George
Willingness of European healthcare workers to undergo vaccination against seasonal influenza: current situation and suggestions for improvement
title Willingness of European healthcare workers to undergo vaccination against seasonal influenza: current situation and suggestions for improvement
title_full Willingness of European healthcare workers to undergo vaccination against seasonal influenza: current situation and suggestions for improvement
title_fullStr Willingness of European healthcare workers to undergo vaccination against seasonal influenza: current situation and suggestions for improvement
title_full_unstemmed Willingness of European healthcare workers to undergo vaccination against seasonal influenza: current situation and suggestions for improvement
title_short Willingness of European healthcare workers to undergo vaccination against seasonal influenza: current situation and suggestions for improvement
title_sort willingness of european healthcare workers to undergo vaccination against seasonal influenza: current situation and suggestions for improvement
topic Position Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4316812/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25657810
http://dx.doi.org/10.7573/dic.212268
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