Implementing a Healthcare Worker Pertussis Immunization Program: Benefits and Barriers

Purpose for the program: To create an education plan to empower healthcare workers to understand their susceptibility to pertussis and to seek out pertussis immunization.

Proposed change: To increase the number of pertussis immunized healthcare workers at one healthcare facility from approximately 20% to 90%.

Implementation, outcomes and evaluation: By increasing the number of healthcare workers who have received the pertussis immunization through a comprehensive healthcare worker pertussis immunization program, the likelihood a newborn infant and his or her mother being exposed to pertussis from a healthcare worker would be greatly decreased. This would increase the pertussis “cocoon” that the healthcare facility is attempting to establish around the newborn and his/her family. Pertussis immunization would also protect healthcare workers from exposure to pertussis from patients, family members and visitors. Pertussis infection in newborns carries a significantly high morbidity and mortality rate because these infants are too young to have received their pertussis immunizations.  

A comparison of healthcare worker immunization rates before and after program implementation will be calculated.  A survey of healthcare workers will also be conducted using the Health Belief Model framework to determine their reasons for receiving the pertussis immunization and the perceived barriers to pertussis immunization. These results will be used to modify the immunization plan to increase compliance. If the healthcare worker immunization rate does not reach the goal of 90% then a mandatory pertussis immunization policy may be implemented.

Implications for nursing practice: Pertussis is a completely preventable disease that can be almost completely eradicated through proper immunization. Currently most healthcare workers are not aware of their potential susceptibility to pertussis or that they could acquire pertussis from patients and individuals in the community in which they live. According to a study by Calagar et al. (2006) healthcare workers are at 1.6 times higher risk of acquiring pertussis than the general population. Increasing pertussis immunization rates for healthcare workers to 90% would protect the healthcare worker, newborns and their mothers and family members, other patients and visitors, and the community from pertussis infection. The pertussis healthcare worker immunization plan could also decrease employee absence due to potential pertussis illness, which would be a benefit to the employee and the healthcare facility.

Keywords: pertussis, immunization, healthcare worker, health belief model