Introduction To Health Policy Analysis

Introduction to Health Policy Influenza is a common respiratory illness seen, especially as the winter months are approaching. The “flu” is the reason for thousands of admissions a year into the hospital because of the complications that accompany the illness. This infectious disease affects an estimated 5-15% of the world’s population and also results in 500,000 deaths annually (Sullivan, 2009). As health care workers, many hospitals and health institutions require that its staff receive the flu vaccine. Nurses day in and day out act as role models, educators, advocates, and vaccinators for their colleagues and patients (American Nurses Association, 2015). Thus, proving how as nurses, they have critical roles in preventing influenza. The …show more content…
IDSA (2010), believes that having vaccination programs will be the most effective to protect patients and avoid the transmission of seasonal and pandemic influenza. Having a policy in place that supports universal immunization against influenza is significant to the nursing profession, as we encounter and care for individuals who are affected with this serious disease that leads to hospitalization and sometimes death. Nurses have an ethical and moral obligation to be immunized, as it ensures protection not only for the health of their selves, but the health of their patients (American Nurses Association, 2015). Not only do health care providers have an ethical and moral obligation to prevent the transmission of infectious disease to their patients, they also have the objective when treating patients “to do good or to do no harm” (IDSA, 2010). If health care organizations can alleviate common fears and misconceptions of receiving the influenza vaccine, they will guide health professionals to act in the best interests of the health of their patients to reduce the disease …show more content…
Vaccination is the best way to protect against contagious diseases such as influenza. Since voluntary compliance by health care workers is low, hospitals and public health officials have no choice but to implement a mandated vaccination program. Scientific data from decades demonstrate Food and Drug Administration-approved influenza vaccines that are proven to be harmless, effective, and cost-saving for employees (IDSA, 2010). Interventions, such as educational programs and easier access to influenza immunization have resulted in slightly improved coverage throughout many health care institutions. However, these interventions have not reached acceptable levels of coverage, as most successful education programs only provided 40 to 70 percent coverage (IDSA, 2010). Several large health care systems and hospitals have adopted these policies regarding the influenza vaccine. These institutions mandate influenza vaccination declaring that those employees who cannot or choose not to be vaccinated, wear masks or are not involved in direct patient care (IDSA, 2010). Although employees in the health care field have rights that should be respected, they need to remember they have an ethical imperative to act in a way where they do no harm to their