COVID-19 Vaccination Rates and Influences among United States Nursing Home Administrators and Other Staff

Abstract

COVID-19 has brought forward significant challenges in public health messaging and dissemination of research to the public. Residents and healthcare staff are at increased risk for COVID-19 being in settings such as skilled nursing facilities, and are at particularly high risk due to their older adult population and their higher presence of underlying chronic medical conditions. The National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards provided their contact list of all 1,159 currently licensed nursing home administrators in the United States (US) in the spring of 2021 for this study. Data from 1,004 completed surveys of US licensed nursing home administrators and their employees measuring COVID-19 vaccination rates and influences. A majority of participants (85.0%) planned to or already received the vaccine. Common themes surrounding the participants’ perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine included wanting to protect themselves, their families ,and co-workers, and to stop the spread of the virus, among others.

Keywords

• vaccination rates
• vaccination influences
• COVID-19 knowledge
• nursing home administrators
• COVID-19 vaccine

Project Number

2021-73

References

1. Berry, S. D., Johnson, K. S., Myles, L., Herndon, L., Montoya, A., Fashaw, S., & Gifford, D. (2021). Lessons learned from frontline skilled nursing facility staff regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 69(5), 1140– 1146. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.17136
2. Canning, H. S., Phillips, J., & Allsup, S. (2005). Health care worker beliefs about influenza vaccine and reasons for non-vaccination: A cross- sectional survey. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 14(8), 922–925. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365- 2702.2005.01190.x
3. CMS (2021, August 18). The Biden-Harris Administration Takes Additional Action to Protect America’s Nursing Home Residents from COVID-19. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/ press-releases/biden-harris-administration- takes-additional-action-protect-americas- nursing-home-residents-covid-19
4. Food and Drug Administration (2021). FDA approves first COVID-19 vaccine. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/news- events/press-announcements/fda-approves- first-covid-19-vaccine#:~:text=The%20first%20 EUA%2C%20issued%20Dec,trial%20of%20 thousands%20of%20individuals.
5. Gharpure, R., Guo, A., Bishnoi, C. K., Patel, U., Gifford, D., Tippins, A., Jaffe, A., Shulman, E., Stone, N., Mungai, E., Bagchi, S., Bell, J., Srinivasan, A., Patel, A., & Link-Gelles, R. (2021). Early COVID-19 First-Dose Vaccination Coverage Among Residents and Staff Members of Skilled Nursing Facilities Participating in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, United States, December 2020-January 2021. 90 MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70(5), 178–182. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr. mm7005e2
6. Girard, H., Bosshard, W., Krief, H., & Büla, C. J. (2022). Effectiveness of Information Sessions About COVID-19 Vaccines in Healthcare Professionals Working in Geriatrics. Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine, 8, 23337214221115235. https://doi. org/10.1177/23337214221115235
7. Karlsson, L. C., Lewandowsky, S., Antfolk, J., Salo, P., Lindfelt, M., Oksanen, T., Kivimäki, M., & Soveri, A. (2019). The association between vaccination confidence, vaccination behavior, and willingness to recommend vaccines among Finnish healthcare workers. PloS One, 14(10), e0224330. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0224330
8. Kimura, A. C., Nguyen, C. N., Higa, J. I., Hurwitz, E. L., & Vugia, D. J. (2007). The effectiveness of vaccine day and educational interventions on influenza vaccine coverage among health care workers at long-term care facilities. American Journal of Public Health, 97(4), 684–690. https:// doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2005.082073

9. Kwok, K. O., Li, K. K., Wei, W. I., Tang, A., Wong, S. Y. S., & Lee, S. S. (2021). Editor's Choice: Influenza vaccine uptake, COVID-19 vaccination intention, and vaccine hesitancy among nurses: A survey. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 114, 103854. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ijnurstu.2020.103854
10. La Torre, G., Scalingi, S., Garruto, V., Siclari, M., Chiarini, M., & Mannocci, A. (2017). Knowledge, attitude, and behaviors towards recommended vaccinations among healthcare workers. Healthcare, 5(1), 1-17.
11. Moderna Receives Full U.S. FDA Approval for COVID-19 Vaccine Spikevax (2022). https://investors.modernatx.com/news/ news-details/2022/Moderna-Receives-Full- U.S.-FDA-Approval-for-COVID-19-Vaccine- Spikevax/default.aspx
12. Norris, T., Vahratian, A., & Cohen, R. A. (2017). Vaccination Coverage Among Adults Aged 65 and Over: United States, 2015. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville.
13. Tan, H. H. & Lim, A. K. (2009). Trust in coworkers and trust in organizations. The Journal of Psychology, 143(1), 45-66.
14. Taylor, S., Landry, C. A., Paluszek, M. M., Groenewould, R., Rachor, G. S., & Asmundson, G. J. (2020. Oct.). A proactive approach for managing COVID-19: The importance of understanding the motivational roots of vaccination hesitancy for SARS-CoV2. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 575950.
15. Van Dussen, D., Weaver, A., Ward, R., & Cook, A. (2024). COVID-19 Vaccination behaviors, sources of information, and beliefs among nursing home administrators and other staff. Journal of Aging and Long-Term Care, 6(3), 159- 170. 10.51819/jaltc.2023.1374608