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Immunisation of healthcare workers in the Nordic countries: Variation in recommendations and practices and a lack of assessment.

ABSTRACT: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of both exposure and transmission of infectious disease. Two European Union (EU) directives state that health services are responsible for assessing their employees' potential exposure to infectious diseases and offering immunisation free of charge. We assessed current policy for immunisation of HCWs and the availability of vaccine coverage data in the Nordic countries by surveying national vaccination experts in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, as well as Swedish county medical officers (CMOs). All national experts and 17 of 21 Swedish CMOs responded. All EU countries had transposed the European directives into national law, while Norway and Iceland had similar national legislation. Recommendations or guidelines were issued in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and 15 of 17 responding Swedish counties. The range of diseases covered differed by countries and Swedish counties. HCW vaccine coverage data were not systematically collected; incomplete estimates were only available for Finland and two Swedish counties. In conclusion, recommendations or guidelines exist in the Nordic countries, but their impact cannot be assessed, as vaccine uptake among HCWs is not currently measured. Systematic collection of data is a necessary step towards improving HCW immunisation policy and practice in the Nordic countries.

SUBMITTER: Dub T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7848784 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Immunisation of healthcare workers in the Nordic countries: Variation in recommendations and practices and a lack of assessment.

Dub Timothee T Søborg Bolette B Andersen Peter Henrik PH Gudnason Thorolfur T Nøkleby Hanne H Lindstrand Ann A Carlsson Rose-Marie RM Nohynek Hanna H

Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin 20210101 4

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of both exposure and transmission of infectious disease. Two European Union (EU) directives state that health services are responsible for assessing their employees' potential exposure to infectious diseases and offering immunisation free of charge. We assessed current policy for immunisation of HCWs and the availability of vaccine coverage data in the Nordic countries by surveying national vaccination experts in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway a ...[more]

PMID: 33509337

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Project description:Background Knowledge about the nutrient intakes and food consumption in the Nordic and Baltic countries is important for the formulation of dietary reference values (DRVs) and food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs), as part of the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2022 project (NNR2022). Objective To describe nutrient intake and food consumption at a broad level in the adult population of each Nordic and Baltic country. This paper also provides guidance on where to find more information on the nutrient intake and food consumption reported from each country. Design Information about the dietary surveys as well as the daily mean intakes was retrieved from the national dietary surveys in each of the Nordic and Baltic countries. Tabulation of the population intakes divided by sex for macronutrients, 20 micronutrients, and for the following broader food groups, Beverages, Cereals, Potatoes, Vegetables, Fruits and berries, Fish and seafood, Meat and meat products, Milk and dairy products, Cheese, Eggs, Fats and oils, and Sweets and sweet bakery products, was done. Results and Discussion The Nordic and Baltic countries share not only similarities but also differences in food consumption patterns, which is reflected in differences in average food consumption and nutrient intakes between the countries. This may be related to the dietary assessment method, prevalence of misreporting, and participation rates in the different dietary surveys. Other factors that may play a role are differences in the calculation procedures in the food composition databases and the definition of food groups. Conclusion The nutrient intake and, especially, food consumption differ between the Nordic and Baltic countries because of differences in food patterns and factors related to the dietary surveying, food grouping, and calculation procedures in each country. To facilitate future comparisons between countries, it would be of interest to harmonize food groupings and the age groups reported on.

Project description:Background: The incidence rate of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is increasing in several countries despite that public health measures are put in place. Given that COVID-19 is a newly emerging disease, there is little knowledge about the disease. The present study aims to assess knowledge, perception, and preventive practices toward COVID-19 among health workers in Tigray, North Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: A health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among health professionals working in public hospitals. Data were collected between April and May 2020. The researchers included 403 participants and recruited them via a simple random sampling technique. To collect data, the researchers prepared a structured questionnaire guided by the WHO survey questions. Data were entered into Epi-info 7 and exported to SPSS version 20.00 for analysis. The researchers applied descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. Tables and graphs were used to describe data, and multivariate binary logistic regression was used to determine factors affecting knowledge, perception, and practices toward COVID-19 prevention. Results: Among the participants, 79, 88, and 64.3% of them had adequate knowledge, positive perception, and good practice toward preventing COVID-19, respectively. Besides, 92% of the study participants knew that the COVID-19 virus does not have curative treatment and vaccine. The findings revealed that 55% of the respondents did not use the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times. The result showed that being female [AOR: 2.43, 95% CI (1.50-3.94)] and having a work experience of 2-5 years [AOR: 2.44, 95% CI (1.10-5.39)], news media as a source information [AOR: 7.11, 95% CI (3.07-16.49)], social media as a source information [AOR: 4.59, 95% CI (2.15-9.84)], and governmental website as a source information [AOR: 4.21, 95% CI (2.15-8.27)] were reported as protective factors; and being single [AOR: 0.15, 95% CI (0.03-0.75)] was reported as risk factor toward the prevention of COVID-19. Conclusion: Most health workers had adequate knowledge and positive attitude toward COVID-19; nevertheless, a significant proportion of health workers had poor practice toward the prevention of COVID-19, including the use of PPE. Additionally, some groups of health professional showed poor practices of implementing the public health measures, hence the call for them to improve in the prevention and control of COVID-19.

Project description:BackgroundSeasonal influenza is a highly contagious vaccine-preventable disease that may cause high morbidity and mortality in susceptible populations. Healthcare workers are a priority group for seasonal influenza vaccination to protect them from contracting influenza and prevent nosocomial transmission to patients. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of seasonal influenza vaccination among healthcare workers in Honduras.MethodFrom August 24 to October 21, 2018, we conducted a cross-sectional KAP survey regarding seasonal influenza vaccination to a random sample of healthcare workers who attended patients in hospitals of the Ministry of Health of Honduras (SESAL) and Honduran Social Security Institute (IHSS). We reported frequency distributions of demographics, vaccination KAP, sources of information, and reasons for non-vaccination. We used principal components factor analysis to create knowledge and attitude scores. We used linear regression to analyze associations between demographics and sources of information about the influenza vaccine, and knowledge and attitude scores. We used logistic regression to analyze associations between demographics, sources of information, knowledge scores, and attitude scores, and influenza vaccination.ResultWe surveyed 947 healthcare workers who attended patients in 13 SESAL hospitals and two IHSS hospitals. Only 4.6% of participants knew the seasonal influenza vaccine was composed of inactivated viruses, 94.7% believed vaccination causes flu-like symptoms, and 52.0% were vaccinated for influenza in 2018. Knowledge scores were lower for nursing assistants and other healthcare professionals compared to doctors, and higher for healthcare workers who attended a healthcare facility training (P-values≤0.030). Attitude scores were higher for healthcare workers who attended ≥11 patients per day having ≤10 patients per day as reference, self-reported influenza vaccination in previous year, and cited trainings and informal information at the healthcare facility as sources of information for influenza vaccination (P-values≤0.030). Factors associated with self-reported vaccination were self-reported influenza vaccination in previous year (aOR: 7.61; 95% CI: 5.24-11.04), attitude score (aOR: 1.14; 95% CI: 1.07-1.21), and worked in a SESAL hospital (aOR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.12-2.68) having IHSS as reference.ConclusionAlthough influenza vaccination is required by law in Honduras and available for free in public health centers, coverage of healthcare workers in 2018 was half that reported in 2017. Lower coverage may be attributed to misconceptions of vaccination side effects.

Project description:Introduction Despite the emphasis on reporting of Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFIs) during didactic training sessions, especially prior to new vaccine introductions, it remains low in Ghana. We explored the factors underlying the under-reporting of AEFI by healthcare workers (HCWs) to provide guidance on appropriate interventions to increase reporting. Methods We conducted an exploratory descriptive in-depth study of the factors contributing to low reporting of AEFI among HCWs in four regions in Ghana. Key informant interviews (KII) were held with purposively selected individuals that are relevant to the AEFI reporting process at the district, regional, and national levels. We used KII guides to conduct in-depth interviews and used NVivo 10 qualitative software to analyse the data. Themes on factors influencing AEFI reporting were derived inductively from the data, and illustrative quotes from respondents were used to support the narratives. Results We conducted 116 KIIs with the health managers, regulators and frontline HCWs and found that lack of information on reportable AEFIs and reporting structures, misunderstanding of reportable AEFIs, heavy workload, cost of reporting AEFIs, fear of blame by supervisors, lack of motivation, and inadequate feedback as factors responsible for underreporting of AEFIs. Respondents suggested that capacity building for frontline HCWs, effective supervision, the provision of motivation and feedback, simplification of reporting procedures, incentives for integrating AEFI reporting into routine monitoring and reporting, standardization of reporting procedures across regions, and developing appropriate interventions to address the fear of personal consequences would help improve AEFI reporting. Conclusion From the perspectives of a broad range of key informants at all levels of the vaccine safety system, we found multiple factors (both structural and behavioural), that may impact HCW reporting of AEFI in Ghana. Improvements in line with the suggestions are necessary for increased AEFI reporting in Ghana.

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Immunisation of healthcare workers in the Nordic countries: Variation in recommendations and practices and a lack of assessment.

Publications

Immunisation of healthcare workers in the Nordic countries: Variation in recommendations and practices and a lack of assessment.

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