Student nurses' intention to get the influenza vaccine

Introduction: There is no national or international recommendation for nursing students to receive the influenza vaccine. Nurses are among the group of health professionals who traditionally have a low uptake of the vaccine and who arguably have the closest contact with patients. Aim: To investigate the uptake of influenza vaccination among student nurses, explore reasons for either declining or receiving it in the past, and establish if and to what extent the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) can explain vaccination behaviour. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, correlational design was used. Data were collected with a researcher-developed questionnaire; 131 student nurses participated. Ethical approval was gained. Results: 79% (n=104) had never received the vaccine. The most common reason was 'I don't need it as I rarely get ill'. Low mean 'intention' scores indicated that students were unlikely to get the vaccine once qualified. Past behaviour was significantly associated with future intentions. The TPB explained 41.9% of the variance in intention. Attitude emerged as the greatest predictor. Conclusion: Student nurses do not have strong intentions to get the vaccine. Results serve to guide future educational and occupational health initiatives, which would benefit from a framework based on TPB.