Monitoring of Vaccination Adherence among Healthcare Workers in the Russian Federation

Relevance . Vaccination is one of the main tools of public health that helps prevent the spread of infectious diseases and maintain the health of the nation. Healthcare workers play a crucial role in vaccination matters. The confidence of healthcare workers in the necessity, effectiveness, and safety of vaccination largely determines its acceptance by the population and ultimately the success of the vaccination campaign as a whole. Aim . To study the level of vaccination adherence among healthcare workers in the Russian Federation. Materials and methods . A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted, consisting of three stages implemented according to a unified design. The first stage of information gathering (using anonymous electronic questionnaire) was carried in 2019, followed by the second stage in 2021, and the third one in 2023. Participants for the study were recruited using the database of National Association of Specialists for the Control of Healthcare-Associated Infections (NASCI), further sampling was formed using the snowball method. In total, over three periods, 146.244 (31.330 in 2019, 85.218 in 2021 and 29.696 in 2023) questionnaires from medical professionals of various specialties (doctors and mid-level medical staff) were analyzed. Responses were received from representatives of 79 out of 85 regions of the Russian Federation in 2019 and 2021, and from 66 out of 89 regions in 2023. For analysis and presentation of the obtained data, standard methods of descriptive statistics were used (test for normality, calculation of averages and 95% confidence intervals for quantitative variables, calculation of proportions, 95% confidence interval for qualitative variables). Statistical associations between two non-normally distributed quantitative variables were evaluated using Spearman's correlation coefficient, the statistical significance of differences in groups of qualitative variables was evaluated using the Pearson’s chi-square test at p<0.05 IBM SPSS Statistics v. 22. Results . 73.8% ± 0.5% of medical workers in the Russian Federation have a positive attitude towards vaccination, 19.3% ± 0.3% are neutral, 6.9% ± 0.3% are negative in 2023. During the COVID-19 pandemic (2021), there was a significant decrease in vaccination adherence – during this period, the share of medical workers who have a negative attitude towards vaccination increased from 1.8% ± 0.2% to 18.0% ± 0.3%. The adherence of mid-level medical staff (nurses) is significantly lower than that of doctors 61.9% ± 0.3% and 79.9% ± 0.3%, respectively). The highest level of adherence is observed among pediatricians 93.4% ± 0.4%, epidemiologists 92.5% ± 1.3%, allergists-immunologists 86.1% ± 2.9%, infectious disease specialists 84.6% ± 2.2%, therapists 83.3% ± 0.5%, pulmonologists 81.8% ± 4.5%. The level of commitment among health-care workers directly involved in vaccination are 22.8% ± 12.2% higher than those who do not participate (χ2 = 3918.3, p < 0.001). The vast majority of medical workers (94.4% ± 0.2%) recommend vaccination to their friends and relatives, most this applies to vaccinations against measles, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, and to a lesser extent – against infections against which vaccination is not included in the National Immunization Schedule. The majority of medical workers (72.0% ± 0.5%) are interested in receiving additional information on the vaccination. Conclusions . Awareness-raising, along with providing accessible, effective and safe vaccines, plays a key role in improving healthcare workers’ adherence to vaccination, reducing both infectious and non-infectious diseases among the population.