Pilot-Testing a Standardized Measure for Reporting Healthcare Personnel Influenza Vaccination, 2010-2011

Background: Significant variation in measurement of influenza vaccination among healthcare personnel (HCP) makes it difficult to compare vaccination rates across healthcare institutions. The National Quality Forum (NQF) gave time-limited endorsement to a CDC-sponsored standardized measure of HCP influenza vaccination. NQF measures that receive full endorsement following pilot testing may become part of national reporting requirements for some types of healthcare institutions.

Setting: 314 healthcare institutions (91 acute care hospitals, 88 long-term care facilities, 49 dialysis centers, 30 ambulatory surgery centers, and 56 physician practices) in four U.S. states or localities.

Population: HCP working in a healthcare institution were categorized as employees, credentialed non-employees, or other non-employees. “Employees” included all HCP who received paychecks from the institution. “Credentialed non-employees” included licensed practitioners affiliated with the healthcare institution who did not receive paychecks from the institution. “Other non-employees” included non-credentialed HCP affiliated with the healthcare institution who did not receive paychecks from the institution such as contract workers, students, and volunteers.

Project Description: The goals of the pilot were (1) to determine the feasibility of implementing the CDC measure in various healthcare institutions and (2) to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation, using a mixed-methods approach employing qualitative interviews and quantitative data collection. Participating institutions were asked to complete web-based surveys at three intervals during the 2010-2011 influenza season. Reportable data included influenza vaccine receipt by HCP (at the institution or elsewhere), reported medical contraindications, and documented declinations for non-medical reasons. Respondents also answered questions about institution characteristics, process limitations, and data sources used.

Results/Lessons Learned: Divergent interpretation of protocol definitions resulted in inconsistent designation of HCP in different states. Some healthcare institutions are not able to monitor influenza vaccination rates in certain HCP categories. Additional findings will be reported as more data are expected in February 2011.