Title : What do health professionals want to know about Influenza vaccination in Canada results of an online survey on facebook
Abstract:
Introduction/background:
Vaccination rates of healthcare workers in Canada are below the national target of 80%. Our objective was to identify the preferred promotional formats and types of information health professionals would consider in their decision-making process to get influenza vaccination. The goals of this survey were to 1) inform the design of a social marketing campaign to help health professionals make informed decisions about influenza vaccination, and 2) inform future education and promotional work by vaccination stakeholders.
Methods:
We implemented a bilingual survey online using Facebook ads to recruit health professionals across Canada. The survey consisted of 15 mixed multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Eligibility requirements included being a practicing Canadian health professional such as medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, midwives, dentists. Informed consent was collected through the Facebook page and by completing the survey. All responses were de-identified. This study received approval from the University of Guelph Research Ethics Board and all the participants signed a consent form.
Results and analysis:
A total of 265 health professionals completed the study, with a majority (51.3%) being nurses and practicing in Ontario (32.1%). Infographics were viewed as the promotional format most likely to influence their decision-making (33.6%). Health professionals relied on news from various medias and peer-reviewed journals (15.8%) to make their decision. Finally, influenza vaccine effectiveness was the most relevant information to decision-making reported (80.8%).
Conclusions and implications for policy, practice or additional research:
Infographics may be an important method for promoting influenza vaccination among health professionals. These visual representations should focus on up-to-date information on influenza vaccine effectiveness to respond to information needs of health professionals. The next steps will be to design a marketing campaign focused on vaccine effectiveness and using infographics as a promotional format. We will then measure health professionals’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of influenza vaccination after the marketing campaign and assess the effectiveness of the campaign using infographics.
