tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Geriatr Nurs
. 2025 Jul 7:65:103505.
doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2025.103505. Online ahead of print. Influenza vaccination as work stress prevention: Effects of a simple communication intervention on vaccination intentions among geriatric nurses
Philipp Sprengholz[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jessica van den Bergh[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Among geriatric nurses, influenza vaccination rates are often low, putting the health of nursing home residents and staff at risk. As well as protecting nurses against severe infection, vaccination also reduces virus transmission. Previous research has shown that explaining the prosocial effects of vaccination for the elderly can improve immunization intention. The present study investigated whether nurses were more willing to be vaccinated on learning that this would also help to protect colleagues, reduce sickness absence, and prevent work-related stress within the nursing team. A preregistered survey experiment in Germany (N = 92) found that informing participants about this stress-prevention effect strongly increased vaccination intention. While work-related stress was associated with lower vaccination intention, the experimental intervention seemed to mitigate this issue. Overall, the results suggest that communicating the positive externality of vaccination for the nursing team is a promising strategy for increasing uptake among geriatric nurses.
Keywords: Influenza; Nursing; Sick leave; Stress; Vaccination intention.
. 2025 Jul 7:65:103505.
doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2025.103505. Online ahead of print. Influenza vaccination as work stress prevention: Effects of a simple communication intervention on vaccination intentions among geriatric nurses
Philipp Sprengholz[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jessica van den Bergh[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 40628096
- DOI: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2025.103505
Among geriatric nurses, influenza vaccination rates are often low, putting the health of nursing home residents and staff at risk. As well as protecting nurses against severe infection, vaccination also reduces virus transmission. Previous research has shown that explaining the prosocial effects of vaccination for the elderly can improve immunization intention. The present study investigated whether nurses were more willing to be vaccinated on learning that this would also help to protect colleagues, reduce sickness absence, and prevent work-related stress within the nursing team. A preregistered survey experiment in Germany (N = 92) found that informing participants about this stress-prevention effect strongly increased vaccination intention. While work-related stress was associated with lower vaccination intention, the experimental intervention seemed to mitigate this issue. Overall, the results suggest that communicating the positive externality of vaccination for the nursing team is a promising strategy for increasing uptake among geriatric nurses.
Keywords: Influenza; Nursing; Sick leave; Stress; Vaccination intention.