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Abstract
A healthy hospital workforce is associated with higher quality healthcare being delivered to patients and lower costs to the organisation through increased retention of staff and reduced absenteeism. My thesis is concerned with two public health initiatives employed by South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD). These include occupational influenza immunisation and smoke-free environments. Whilst both initiatives are aimed at protecting staff health, there are challenges in getting staff to comply with them. This thesis aims to examine the views of the healthcare workforce towards two new interventions and identify other strategies to maximise acceptance and utilisation by staff.
While seasonal influenza vaccination is highly recommended to staff, only around half of the hospital workforce received the influenza vaccine from clinics in 2015 and 2016. The aim of the first study was to examine the views of staff working in several public hospitals in Sydney and senior NSW health officers towards an educational tool aimed at improving staff acceptance of the influenza vaccine. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 15 stakeholders and thematic analysis was conducted.
The second study examined the impact of introducing designated smoking areas (DSA) on two hospital campuses to reduce staff and other individuals’ exposure to second-hand smoke attributed to people (staff, patients and visitors) smoking near public entrances and thoroughfares on hospital campuses. A workforce survey assessed healthcare worker perceptions of smoking on hospital campuses and their awareness, beliefs and attitudes towards s after they had been installed for 6 months and other elements of the SESLHD smoke-free workforce program. Pre and post observations of smoking incidents on campuses with s were also conducted at three and six months.
This research highlights the importance of designing interventions which address both the personal and practical reasons why some staff choose to disregard these public health programs. Based on these findings, it is recommended a promotional campaign be designed around the personal benefits to staff for these two public health programs and that the new influenza educational intervention be revised and tested with hospital staff to determine whether addressing these barriers improves program compliance and uptake.