Attitudes, beliefs and practice of Egyptian healthcare workers towards seasonal influenza vaccination.

BACKGROUND: Seasonal influenza vaccination is highly recommended for healthcare workers (HCWs) every year to protect them and reduce the risk of disease transmission at workplaces. Relatively few studies addressed influenza vaccination in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to explore the attitudes, beliefs and practice of Egyptian HCWs towards seasonal influenza vaccine.

METHODS: This is a nationwide cross-sectional study. Data were collected through self-administered structured questionnaire. A sample of 3534 HCWs (physicians and nurses) was collected from different levels of healthcare facilities.

RESULTS: The proportion of seasonal influenza vaccine uptake during the last season was 30.7% while the percentage of ever vaccinated was 46.8%. The most identified reason for non-compliance was lack of trust about vaccine efficacy and its adverse events. Around 80% of participants expressed positive attitude towards influenza vaccine and the vast majority (98%) agreed to uptake the vaccine during pandemic. There was significant positive association between attitude score and influenza vaccine uptake. Raising awareness about vaccine and ensuring vaccine availability were the main suggestions by HCWs to improve vaccine uptake.

CONCLUSIONS: Although there was positive attitude towards influenza vaccine, yet vaccination coverage was suboptimal particularly among those working in university hospitals. Educational messages and operational strategies addressing motivators and barriers that emerged from this study are needed to optimize vaccine uptake.