Personal attitudes and misconceptions, not official recommendations guide occupational physicians' vaccination...

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Vaccinology
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Healthcare personnel (HCP) exhibit suboptimal vaccination coverage.
• Occupational physicians play a key role in HCP health and vaccination decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the relationship between occupational physicians' knowledge and attitudes towards vaccinations and their communication of official vaccination recommendations to HCP.
• To identify factors influencing vaccination gaps among HCP.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 135 occupational physicians.
• Data collected focused on physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and vaccination recommendation practices.

Main Results:

• Physicians with greater knowledge and more positive attitudes toward vaccination recommended vaccines more frequently to HCP.
• Attitudes strongly influenced recommendations for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination and were linked to fewer misconceptions.
• Physician attitudes also affected influenza vaccination recommendations for pregnant HCP, while knowledge did not.

Conclusions:

• Gaps in HCP vaccination may stem from occupational physicians' incomplete knowledge of recommendations and influenced attitudes.
• Misconceptions and personal attitudes, rather than official guidelines, can affect vaccination recommendations.
• Occupational vaccination practices should be guided by official recommendations, not personal beliefs or misconceptions.