Hospital health care worker (HCW) vaccination coverage after implementation of an HCW vaccination policy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes, practices, and self-reported vaccination status of HCWs at a tertiary Australian hospital, one year after implementation of a HCW vaccination policy.Two cross-sectional telephone surveys were conducted with HCWs at the hospital prior to and one year after HCW vaccination policy implementation. There was a 95% (272/287) response rate from eligible HCWs in the follow-up survey.Despite 96% (260/272) of HCWs indicating a willingness to update their vaccination status, only 24% (65/272) reported being fully vaccinated. Successful policy implementation requires adequate resource allocation and organisational commitment. Ongoing evaluation can inform the success of this process.