International nursing review
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Review
Protecting patients, protecting healthcare workers: a review of the role of influenza vaccination.
Many health authorities recommend routine influenza vaccination for healthcare workers (HCWs), and during the 2009 A (H1N1) pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended immunization of all HCWs worldwide. As this remains an important area of policy debate, this paper examines the case for vaccination, the role of local guidelines, barriers to immunization and initiatives to increase uptake. ⋯ Many countries recommend HCW vaccination against influenza. In recent years, there has been an increased uptake rate among HCWs in some countries, but not in others. Several initiatives can increase coverage, including education, easy access to free vaccines and the use of formal declination forms. The case for HCW vaccination is clear, and in an effort to further accelerate uptake as a patient safety measure, an increasing number of healthcare organizations, particularly in the USA, are implementing mandatory immunization policies, similar to other obligatory hygiene measures. However, it would be desirable if similar high vaccination uptake rates could be achieved through voluntary procedures.
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To test the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QOL). ⋯ SS-QOL is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring self-reported health-related quality of life at group level among people with stroke who are diagnosed with stroke at least 6 months previously in the Turkish population.