Differences in the attitude and knowledge of hospital health care workers regarding older patient vaccinations

Streptococcus pneumoniae infections are lethal for certain high-risk groups including adults aged 65 years and over. Despite long-standing recommendations for their routine use among elderly persons and other high-risk groups, these vaccines continue to be underused, especially in the very frail elderly. The implementation of organized vaccination programs are important facilitators of vaccine delivery. However, pneumococcal vaccination has not been well embraced by hospital health care workers. For a vaccination program to be able to succeed multiple components should be incorporated such as standing orders, special clinics and provider feedback. This survey aims to compare attitudes and knowledge of hospital-based doctors and nurses. Results: The nurses are less enthusiastic about vaccination and consider the diseases less serious. This has implications particularly for hospital-based strategies for improving vaccination uptake, where gaining the support of nursing staff will be crucial. Discussion: Vaccine delivery efforts must make dramatic improvements if the pneumococcal vaccination goals for elderly persons and other high-risk adults are to be met. Material and methods: Self administered survey of hospital nurses and doctors utilizing all wards in a large, tertiary referral adult hospital in Sydney, Australia.