Vaccination Rates In Canadian Long-Term Care Facilities Remain Suboptimal.(Brief Article)

2001 JUL 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) --

by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Although vaccination rates against influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia in Canadian nursing homes have improved over the past decade, they remain below par, say researchers working there.

The results of surveys mailed to all long-term care facilities in 1991 and to a sample of such facilities in 1995 and 1999 indicate that vaccine coverage among residents and staff are improving but could be better, considering the high mortality rates these infections cause among the elderly, said C.G. Stevenson and colleagues at the University of Toronto.

The 380 facilities that returned surveys in 1999 reported influenza vaccine coverage of 83% among residents and 35% among staff and pneumococcal vaccine coverage of 71% among residents, all of which were significantly higher than 1991 figures, said Stevenson and coworkers.

Factors that were associated with the highest rates of coverage for both vaccines included:

* an on-site infection control practitioner (88% vs. 82% for influenza vaccination among residents, 42% vs. 35% for influenza vaccination among staff, and 75% vs. 63% for pneumococcal vaccination among residents)

* a policy of obtaining consent for vaccination upon admission