Student-centered interventions the key to student health care worker influenza vaccination

Objectives: To investigate influenza vaccination uptake rates, attitudes and motivations towards influenza vaccination among student health care workers (HCWs). Material and methods: Self-reported influenza vaccination uptake among student HCWs at The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, Western Australia (UNDAF) was surveyed before and after implementation of a peer-led, student-centered campaign to raise awareness of, and improve access to, influenza vaccination. Data were weighted and analysed using logistic regression. Results: Pre-campaign influenza vaccination uptake was 36.3% (95% CI = 31.8%-40.8%), with students identifying lack of awareness of both the Australian Government's recommendations and university policy, cost, and inconvenience of vaccine access as key barriers. Post-campaign vaccination coverage increased significantly to 55.9% (95% CI = 52.2%-59.6%). Multivariate logistic regression, controlled for statistically insignificant confounders of age and gender, showed that being a student HCW in 2014 (campaign year) was significantly and independently associated with influenza vaccination (OR 2.2, 95% CI = 1.7-2.9, P < 0.001). Other significant factors were eligibility for National Immunisation Programme (NIP) funded vaccine (OR 12.3, 95% CI = 6.3-24.0, P < 0.001), employment as HCWs (OR 1.9, 95% CI = 1.5-2.6, P < 0.001), recalled campaign materials (OR 1.8, 95% CI = 1.2-2.7, P = 0.002) and enrolled in medicine (OR 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1-2.4, P = 0.016). Conclusions: Student HCWs' influenza vaccination uptake improved significantly following a low-cost, peer-led promotional campaign. This approach can be adapted to other settings. Crown Copyright (C)2016 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control. All rights reserved.