Predictors of influenza vaccination amongst Australian nurses

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that health care workers receive influenza immunisation annually. There is no available data on factors predicting influenza immunisation or nurses' acceptance of the need for immunisation in Australia. To determine the predictors of influenza immunisation amongst nurses in Australia, a cross sectional survey of nurses in a 200-bed hospital was conducted. 232 of the 290 questionnaires were returned. In a logistic regression model, nurses having had previous influenza vaccination, severity of influenza if contracted, and, knowledge that the vaccine does not lead to clinical signs of influenza, were the factors most predictive of intention of influenza vaccination in the immediate future. Influenza immunisation rates among nurses may be increased by strategies addressing misconceptions about influenza immunisation and reinforcing predictors of influenza immunisation through education programs targeted to nurses.