Abstract
Background: The incidence of influenza in hematopoietic stem cell recipients is 7-35% with a 15-35% mortality rate (Shah et al., 2012). Vinograd et al. (2014) reported a 48% compliance rate in influenza vaccinations. In our NCI-designated cancer center, the baseline adherence rate with influenza vaccination in the post-allogeneic setting was 62.5%. Methods: This project was a pre-test post-test quality improvement project to determine patient knowledge and vaccination adherence rates following implementation of the influenza adherence toolkit. The intervention included: 1) Pre and Post screening survey, 2) The toolkit which includes an influenza disease education pamphlet and financial incentive, and 3) reminder letter. Results: There were 48 eligible patients for the project, 32 completed the pre-screening questionnaire (66.7%). The results showed overall adherence rate for 2015-2016 to be 88.5%, compared to a baseline vaccination rate of 62.5%. Findings also revealed a strong association between provider recommendations and influenza vaccination adherence, 23 of the 24 (96%) patients who had a provider recommend receiving the flu shot did receive it (p=.009). Conclusion: Findings showed that implementation and evaluation of an influenza toolkit in allogeneic hematopoietic recipients improves adherence rates. Consistent with previous studies, there was a strong association between provider recommendation and obtaining the vaccination.
