Table 1

Healthcare workers' characteristics and self-reported willingness to accept smallpox immunization


Total
By expressed willingness to be immunized







Yes/probably
Probably not/no/
don't know



n
%      
n
%      
n
%      
p-value*







All
1165
100 %
708
61%
450
39%

Perceived risk of attack






<0.0001
     High/intermediate
610
53%
422
70%
184
30%

     Low/next to zero
400
35%
185
47%
212
53%

     Can't guess
144
12%
95
66%
49
34%

Region






0.03
     Northeast (9 hospitals)
503
43%
278
56%
222
44%

     Mid-Atlantic & Southeast (8 hospitals)
317
27%
205
65%
111
35%

     Midwest & West (4 hospitals)
345
30%
225
66%
117
34%

Main work area






0.11
     ED or ED consult
558
48%
349
63%
208
37%

     ICU (adult or pediatric) or consult
434
37%
248
57%
184
43%

     Other/none specified
173
15%
111
66%
58
34%

Profession






0.86
     Physician
351
30%
210
61%
137
39%

     Non-physician clinician
642
55%
392
61%
248
39%

     Other/none specified
172
15%
106
62%
65
38%

Age






0.41
     Up to 29
277
24%
170
62%
106
38%

     30–39
356
31%
206
58%
147
42%

     40–49
315
27%
191
61%
121
39%

     50 or over
207
18%
135
65%
72
35%

Gender






<0.0001
     Male
408
35%
257
63%
148
37%

     Female
743
65%
440
60%
299
40%

Children < 18 at home?**






<0.0001**
     Yes
461
41%
281
61%
177
39%

     No
676
59%
413
61%
259
39%

Ever vaccinated against smallpox






0.07
     Yes
606
52%
384
64%
217
36%

     No
418
36%
241
58%
175
42%

     Not sure
140
12%
82
59%
58
41%

How well informed about risks and benefits of smallpox vaccination






0.0002
     Very well
138
12%
98
72%
39
28%

     Fairly well
474
41%
304
65%
167
35%

     Not well
456
39%
255
56%
198
44%

     Not at all
94
8%
50
53%
44
47%

How carefully read accompanying smallpox vaccine information sheet**






<0.0001**
     Read carefully
534
47%
326
62%
204
38%

     Read some parts
182
16%
111
62%
69
38%

     Skimmed quickly
234
21%
150
64%
84
36%

     Didn't read it
189
17%
106
56%
83
44%


NB: Where subtotals do not add to 1,165, this is due to missing answers on the questionnaire. * Adjusted for clustering within hospital and variation in the number of responses per hospital. ** Two variables, children at home and reading the VIS, were statistically significant in the bivariate analysis but were excluded from the multivariate model. Hospital-specific odds ratios for favoring vaccination with children at home compared to without children at home ranged from 0.22 to 5.5, but only one of the 21 was statistically significant (OR 1.14, p=.03). Similarly, on hospital-specific analysis, odds ratios for the various levels of reading the VIS compared to not reading it at all varied from 0.09 (for reading parts of it) to 5.3 (for reading it carefully) and none were statistically significant. We concluded that there was little evidence of a meaningful association and removed both variables from the final multivariate model.

Yih et al. BMC Public Health 2003 3:20   doi:10.1186/1471-2458-3-20