Determinants of Flu Vaccination among Nurses: The Effects of Group Identification and Professional Responsibility

Five hundred and thirty-one nurses completed a questionnaire assessing knowledge about the flu and flu vaccination, professional group identification, perception of the flu vaccination as a professional duty, previous year's vaccination status, intention to receive vaccination in the following year, and the extent to which motivation to accept vaccination is primarily for self-protection or for patient protection. Results showed that knowledge about the flu and flu vaccination constitutes a major reason for rejecting immunisation. Group identification also constitutes an independent predictor of vaccination. Furthermore, the effect of identification on willingness to receive the vaccination was partially mediated by perceived professional responsibility: the more nurses identified with their group, the more they perceived vaccination as a professional duty and, as a consequence, the more likely that they (a) had been vaccinated the previous year, (b) intended to be vaccinated in the following year, and (c) were motivated to be vaccinated for patient protection (but not for self-protection).