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Open Access Highly Access Research article

Willingness to accept H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccine: A cross-sectional study of Hong Kong community nurses

Samuel YS Wong1, Eliza LY Wong1*, Josette Chor1, Kenny Kung2, Paul KS Chan3, Carmen Wong1 and Sian M Griffiths1

Author Affiliations

1 School of Public Health & Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China

2 Department of Family Medicine, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong, PR China

3 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China

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BMC Infectious Diseases 2010, 10:316 doi:10.1186/1471-2334-10-316

Published: 29 October 2010

Abstract

Background

The 2009 pandemic of influenza A (H1N1) infection has alerted many governments to make preparedness plan to control the spread of influenza A (H1N1) infection. Vaccination for influenza is one of the most important primary preventative measures to reduce the disease burden. Our study aims to assess the willingness of nurses who work for the community nursing service (CNS) in Hong Kong on their acceptance of influenza A (H1N1) influenza vaccination.

Methods

401 questionnaires were posted from June 24, 2009 to June 30, 2009 to community nurses with 67% response rate. Results of the 267 respondents on their willingness to accept influenza A (H1N1) vaccine were analyzed.

Results

Twenty-seven percent of respondents were willing to accept influenza vaccination if vaccines were available. Having been vaccinated for seasonable influenza in the previous 12 months were significantly independently associated with their willingness to accept influenza A (H1N1) vaccination (OR = 4.03; 95% CI: 2.03-7.98).

Conclusions

Similar to previous findings conducted in hospital healthcare workers and nurses, we confirmed that the willingness of community nurses to accept influenza A (H1N1) vaccination is low. Future studies that evaluate interventions to address nurses' specific concerns or interventions that aim to raise the awareness among nurses on the importance of influenza A (H1N1) vaccination to protect vulnerable patient populations is needed.