Analysis of the current status and influencing factors of influenza vaccination among medical staff in multiple regions of China.

Background

This study investigated influenza vaccination coverage and its predictors among medical staff in multiple Chinese regions to develop targeted vaccination promotion measures.

Methods

A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on medical workers from Beijing, Hebei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Yunnan and other provinces. Questionnaires collected demographic information, influenza/vaccine knowledge, personal and family vaccination history, and vaccine-related health beliefs. We calculated intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) to evaluate hospital clustering due to nested data, adopted binary logistic regression as primary analysis, and applied two-level multilevel logistic regression to correct biased standard errors for robustness.

Results

476 valid questionnaires were retrieved from 483 distributed ones (98.6%). ICC = 0.021 suggested negligible hospital clustering, and the overall vaccination rate was only 16.4% (78/476). Multivariate analysis identified three positive predictors: vaccine training (OR = 2.503, 95% CI 1.337-4.686), family influenza infection (OR = 2.606, 95% CI 1.338-5.076) and family vaccination (OR = 8.266, 95% CI 4.100-16.663). Perceived barriers negatively predicted uptake (OR = 0.589, 95% CI 0.452-0.767). Staff in primary hospitals had higher coverage than those in tertiary hospitals (OR = 3.640, 95% CI 1.420-9.333).

Conclusion

The overall influenza vaccination rate among medical staff remains relatively low. To increase the vaccination rate, in addition to strengthening professional training on influenza vaccine-related knowledge, it is also essential to optimize vaccination accessibility and foster a positive social and occupational vaccination atmosphere. Meanwhile, based on the health belief model of influenza vaccination, targeted health education should be carried out by focusing on reducing perceived barriers and improving health beliefs, so as to effectively enhance the influenza vaccination status of medical staff.