Introduction: Improving influenza vaccination coverage is an important action to prevent influenza epidemics and reduce the costs caused by the epidemics. Recognising the motives to be vaccinated or failure to vaccinate, especially among health care workers, is needed.
Objectives: The aim of presented papers is: 1) recognising the influenza vaccination coverage among NIPH-NIH employees, 2) examining the determinants of decision be vaccinated/not vaccinated, 3) estimating the effectiveness of influenza vaccination in relation to sickness absence due to respiratory infection.
Material and methods: The study was carried out in NIPH-NIH by e-mail questionnaire. Out of 345 employees, 187 (54,2%) participated in the study. The questionnaire contained information on influenza vaccination and determinants that would potentially affect the decision to vaccinate.
Results: 18,7% of the participants was vaccinated in the previous epidemic season and the half of employees were vaccinated at least one time in the previous 10 seasons. Only every fourth family/occupational doctor encouraged their patients to vaccinate. The NIPH-NIH employees would be more likely to be vaccinated, if the employer has provided free vaccines. The estimation of influenza vaccination effectiveness in decreasing the sickness absence due to respiratory infection amounted 37%.
Conclusions: Our findings confirmed that influenza vaccination contributes to noticeable decreasing of sickness absence. Providing free vaccination against influenza by employer could increase considerably the coverage.