Issue Number 471            July 20, 2004

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE

1. You too can achieve health care worker influenza vaccination rates of 80%--with help from two new online toolkits

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ABBREVIATIONS: ACIP, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; IAC, Immunization Action Coalition.
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July 20, 2004
YOU TOO CAN ACHIEVE HEALTH CARE WORKER INFLUENZA VACCINATION RATES OF 80%--WITH HELP FROM TWO NEW ONLINE TOOLKITS

For the past few years, IAC has exhorted health care workers (HCWs) to protect themselves and their patients from influenza by getting vaccinated annually. We haven't exactly been a voice in the wilderness. In 1997, ACIP strongly recommended HCW influenza immunization. In 2003, the National Influenza Summit, a partnership of more than 50 organizations cosponsored by CDC and the American Medical Association, reiterated the importance of influenza vaccination for HCWs. The summit stated that vaccination can reduce the chance of HCWs passing influenza to high-risk patients, for whom it can be life threatening.

Regrettably, in the years since ACIP's 1997 recommendation, HCW influenza vaccination rates have remained stubbornly low. IN 1997, THE RATE WAS 38%, AND IN 2002, IT WAS 38%! Now, with the release of two new online toolkits, infection control specialists and other health care professionals have the resources they need to haul these abysmally low rates out of the 38% sub-basement and launch them into the 80% stratosphere.


APIC'S TOOLKIT, "PROTECT YOUR PATIENTS. PROTECT YOURSELF."

At its June 2004 annual meeting, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) released a new resource kit for infection control professionals, "Protect Your Patients. Protect Yourself."

The kit is designed to help APIC members and other health professionals develop and implement successful HCW influenza immunization programs in their workplaces. It contains the following communication materials, all of which can be tailored to suit a health care facility's particular needs:

• A 16-slide PowerPoint presentation for management that persuasively presents the medical and economic rationale for conducting HCW influenza immunization programs
   
• Two case studies that illustrate best practices for conducting successful HCW influenza immunization programs; the health facilities studied have attained HCW influenza immunization rates of 80% or more
   
• A detailed month-by-month checklist of strategies to use in planning, implementing, and promoting a HCW influenza immunization program
   
• Sample employee education materials, including three prototype employee newsletter articles, three email messages to reinforce the newsletter articles, a flyer to promote in-house HCW influenza vaccination clinics, and a HCW influenza immunization logo that will add zip to print materials
   
• A sample influenza immunization policy statement that a health facility can modify and use to emphasize its support of HCW influenza vaccination
   
• The APIC HCW influenza vaccination statement, which staff can use with management to underscore the importance of HCW influenza immunization programs and policies

To access all the materials in the APIC toolkit, go to: http://66.11.193.197/Content.html Scroll down and click on the various links.


NFID'S TOOLKIT, "IMPROVING INFLUENZA VACCINATION RATES IN HEALTH CARE WORKERS: STRATEGIES TO INCREASE PROTECTION FOR WORKERS AND PATIENTS"

In June, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) released its toolkit, "Improving Influenza Vaccination Rates in Health Care Workers--Strategies to Increase Protection for Workers and Patients." The 36-page document presents the following information:

• Statistics on the current status of HCW influenza immunization, keys for increasing vaccination rates, and a sidebar explaining influenza virus transmission
   
• The financial and health implications of HCW influenza outbreaks in health care facilities
   
• HCW knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding influenza vaccination
   
• Strategies for increasing HCW influenza vaccination rates, including a case study, a month-by-month planning calendar, and lists of suggestions for communication, employee education, logistics, and program audit

To access NFID's toolkit, go to:
http://www.nfid.org/publications/hcwmonograph.pdf


ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON INCREASING HCW INFLUENZA VACCINATION RATES

1. In 2002, the Massachusetts Medical Society, Mass PRO, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health published a 32-page "Employee Flu Immunization Campaign Kit," which includes step-by-step instructions, worksheets, promotional materials, and a wealth of tips for conducting a successful employee influenza immunization campaign. The 2004 edition of the kit will be available in late August; IAC EXPRESS will notify readers about it.
    
   The 2002 edition is still available online. Please note that two pages of the 2002 kit are now outdated: page 2 and page 9. To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of the 2002 kit, go to: http://www.massmed.org/pages/flu_kit.pdf
    
2. From IAC:

• "First do no harm. Protect your patients by getting vaccinated against influenza!" Published in 2004, this one-page professional-education sheet succinctly makes the case for HCW influenza vaccination, suggests basic steps to initiate a workplace vaccination program, and presents additional resources.
   
• To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of it, go to:
  http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2014.pdf
  
  To access a web-text (HTML) version, go to:
  http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2014.htm
   
• "Standing Orders for Administering Influenza Vaccine to Adults." Updated in 2004, this standing orders protocol can help increase influenza vaccination rates among any population, including employees.
   
  Health care facilities can easily adapt the web-text (HTML) version of the protocol to create one tailored to their needs. To access it, go to:
  http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3074.htm
   
  Health care facilities can use the ready-to-copy (PDF) version without modification. To access it, go to:
  http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3074.pdf
   
• Influenza Vaccine VISs. The current versions of both the VIS for trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) and the one for live attenuated intranasal influenza vaccine (LAIV) are dated 5/24/04.
   
  To access the current English-language VIS for TIV, go to:
  http://www.immunize.org/vis/2flu.pdf
   
• To access the current English-language VIS for LAIV, go to: http://www.immunize.org/vis/liveflu.pdf
   
  The 5/24/04 VIS for TIV is also available in Cambodian, Chinese, French, Hmong, Ilokano, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese. To access them, go to: http://www.immunize.org/vis/index.htm#influenza Click on the link you want. Check back often; additional translations are posted regularly.