Healthcare providers' absenteeism during the H1N1 pandemic in Quebec: Is care for unimmunized relatives a problem?

Purpose: Healthcare providers are usually prioritized for vaccination to keep health services running during an influenza outbreak. However their relatives generally do not have the same priority, as in the last H1N1 pandemic in the province of Quebec. This study aimed to measure the impact of this strategy on the absence rate of healthcare providers during H1N1 pandemic. Data and methods: The study population included all 336 healthcare providers who worked in the priority services (influenza clinics, pediatric units, adult and pediatric intensive care units) during the H1N1 pandemic in the region of Sherbrooke. The survey was completed one month after the end of the second wave of H1N1 pandemic. Internet-based and mail-based questionnaires were provided. The validated questionnaires had fixed response alternatives with the possibility of adding comments.

Results: Eighty-one healthcare providers participated. Overall ten days (>1%) of absence were reported. Seventeen (21%) providers reported at least 1 sick relative. More than half were (n=41) worried about their relatives and among them 95% would have been reassured by immunization of their relatives. Approximately 83% of the respondents confirmed that they would have immunized their relatives in the first place if the service had been offered.

Recommendations and policy implications: A low rate of absenteeism among healthcare providers due to influenza-like syndromes of their relatives may reflect the low severity of the symptoms. In this context the vaccination strategy adopted by the Public Health System was appropriate but generated anxiety in more than half of the providers.