Determinants of Nurses’ Willingness to Receive Vaccines: Application of the Health Belief Model

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the willingness of nurses to receive vaccines as recommended by Taiwan's "Immunization Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel" (IRHCP), as well as the factors associated with their willingness. BACKGROUND: Immunisation for healthcare personnel (HCP) is a means of reducing pathogen transmission. Also, vaccinating HCP reduces personnel and labour costs during an epidemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A self-administered questionnaire survey targeting nurses working in various service units at three hospitals was used. In total, 413 nurses completed the questionnaire. The main outcome measure was the willingness to receive vaccines recommended by the IRHCP, and the variables we assessed included knowledge regarding the IRHCP, individual perceptions (perceived risk of contracting the infection, perceived severity of the infection and perceived transmissibility after disease onset), perceived benefits and barriers to the vaccination, cues to the vaccination and demographics. This study followed the STROBE checklist for reporting this study. RESULTS: The willingness of nurses to receive vaccines recommended by the IRHCP was high; the highest level of willingness was for the hepatitis B vaccine. The nurses' willingness to receive various vaccines recommended by the IRHCP was predicted by the knowledge regarding the IRHCP and perceived transmissibility after disease onset. Except the diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccine, perceived benefits and perceived barriers were also predictors of the willingness to receive vaccines. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that interventions focusing on increasing the knowledge regarding the IRHCP and perceived transmissibility after disease onset, emphasising the benefits of the vaccination and reducing the perceived barriers to the vaccination are needed to increase nurses' willingness to receive vaccines. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: It is suggested using health education courses and mass media broadcasts at the individual and societal levels to raise awareness regarding the benefits of vaccines and enhance nurse' confidence in vaccination programs.