A concerted effort to increase the percentage of employees who received the flu vaccination during the recently concluded flu season succeeded spectacularly, with 85 percent of employees at UC Davis Medical Center receiving the vaccine compared to 30 percent in the previous year.
“Although we started our campaign with a lofty goal of a 100-percent compliance rate, we are thrilled with the level we achieved,” said Susan Sutherland, manager of Employee Health Services. “With the information we gained about why employees declined to be vaccinated, we will refine our plan in hopes of increasing our vaccination rate even further next season.”
Decentralizing the vaccination process represented the biggest change in how the flu vaccine was made available to employees this past season. EHS supplied the vaccine to outpatient clinics and nursing units, and allowed them to immunize their own staffs. They also received forms that individual employees were required to sign to indicate whether they received a vaccination or declined it.
Over a six-week period, EHS singled out the department with the highest percentage rate of either giving the vaccine or tracking signed declinations, and rewarded it with a pizza party. The weekly winners also were announced in Weekly Update (see photos above).
Despite the large increase in the overall percentage of employees receiving the vaccination, there were some segments that did not register similar gains. For example, doctors, nurses and employees engaged in direct patient care were the main targets of the vaccination program. However, this group did not improve its historic vaccination rate of about 36 percent. One intensive care unit and one floor unit did not participate in the program at all.
Among employees working in the hospital, the overall rate of compliance was 71 percent. Fourteen percent signed declinations, and 15 percent were not captured, with the latter figure signifying that EHS had no rosters or documentation of immunization from other areas.
For employees of the clinics of Ambulatory Operations and the Primary Care Network, 78 percent received the vaccine, 15 percent declined and 7 percent were not captured. Of employees in ancillary departments, 75 percent received the vaccine, 10 percent declined and 15 percent were not captured.
For all areas of UC Davis Health System combined, there was a vaccination rate of 85 percent, with 15 percent declining to receive the vaccine.
The declination form provided to clinics and units listed six general reasons from which to choose. Those reasons, along with the percentage of employees who chose each, are as follows:
- Side effects: 41 percent.
- Never get it: 18 percent.
- Don’t believe: 10 percent.
- Medical (e.g., allergies): 5 percent.
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