Australian Health Review [Vol 26 • No 1] 2003 76 Hospital health care worker (HCW) vaccination coverage after implementation of an HCW vaccination policy PENNY SMITHERS, SALLY B MURRAY , SOPHIE STEWART AND SUE SKULL Penny Smithers is a Public Health Trainee with the Victorian Public Health Training Scheme, Department of Human Services, Victoria. Sally Murray is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Victoria. At the time of the study she was a Public Health Trainee with the Victorian Public Health Training Scheme. Sophie Stewart is a medical student at the School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tasmania. Sue Skull is Deputy Director and Senior Lecturer at the Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit at the University of Melbourne, Department of Paediatrics, Royal Children’s Hospital, Victoria. At the time of the study she was Head, Epidemiology Division, Victorian Infectious Disease Service, Royal Melbourne Hospital. Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes, practices, and self-reported vaccination status of HCWs at a tertiary Australian hospital, one year after implementation of a HCW vaccination policy. Two cross-sectional telephone surveys were conducted with HCWs at the hospital prior to and one year after HCW vaccination policy implementation. There was a 95% (272/287) response rate from eligible HCWs in the follow-up survey. Despite 96% (260/272) of HCWs indicating a willingness to update their vaccination status, only 24% (65/272) reported being fully vaccinated. Successful policy implementation requires adequate resource allocation and organisational commitment. Ongoing evaluation can inform the success of this process. Background Health Care Workers (HCWs) are at high risk of contracting infections in the workplace (Kuehnert & Cardo 2000; Sepkowitz 1996b; Sepkowitz1996a), many of which are vaccine-preventable (Sepkowitz 1996b; Kuehnert & Cardo 2000). Occupationally acquired infections in HCWs can result in significant morbidity, and occasionally mortality (Sepkowitz 1996b). There is also the risk of disease transmission to other staff, patients and the community (Carman et al 2000; Gurevich, Barzarga & Cunha 1992; Lambert et al 2000; Rank et al 1992). Recent measles outbreaks in Melbourne in 1999 and 2001, with resultant measles infection and transmission in HCWs (Lambert et al 2000; Skull et al 2001; Kelly, Riddell & Andrews 2002), highlight the problem of vaccine preventable disease (VPD) transmission in HCWs. HCW vaccination is known to reduce the risk of transmission of VPDs in the workplace (Kuehnert & Cardo 2000; Sepkowitz 1996b; Sepkowitz 1996a; Bolyard et al 1998; NHMRC 2000; CDC 1997), and it is a specific requirement of the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards for infection control in Healthcare facilities