This study was conducted at a regional teaching-hospital in southern Taiwan, aiming to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among healthcare workers and prevent nosocomial cluster infections. The majority of the patients are elderly with multiple chronic conditions, making them highly susceptible to infections and severe illness. To prevent large-scale hospital outbreaks, Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center emphasized the necessity for individuals to receive two doses of the vaccine to ensure adequate protection.The hospital employed multiple promotional strategies to encourage staff vaccination, including the development of a COVID-19 vaccine educational program. Hospital supervisors led by example by receiving the vaccine and sharing photos on social media, daily reports on vaccination progress were submitted, and a "Vaccine-watch" system was established to regularly report any adverse reactions to the government. Data collection occurred from March 17-22, 2021, and a Google-Form survey was used to assess healthcare workers' willingness to be vaccinated. Only 58 individuals participated in the educational program, with a vaccination rate of just 3.25% in the first month. After six months of continuous promotion, the vaccination rate among staff reached 99.71%. Approximately 33.3% of staff reported localized discomfort, headaches, or urticaria post-vaccination, but most felt well. The results demonstrate that increasing vaccination rates can effectively reduce the risk of nosocomial transmission, lessen the severity of illness among patients, and reduce the overall healthcare burden, thereby mitigating clustering and mortality risks. The success of this project can serve as a reference for other hospitals in formulating educational guidelines for infectious disease prevention.

Authors:
Yen Ju Chen, St. Joseph Hospital, Taiwan
Pei-Yu Lee, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Shu-Lan Chen, St. Joseph Hospital Nursing Home, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Yen Ju-chen holds a master’s degree from the Department of Nursing at Fu Jen Catholic University, with a specialization in clinical nursing and nursing management.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

Bookmark