Correlation of Long-Term Care Facility Influenza Vaccination Practices between Seasons and Resident Types

ObjectivesInfluenza vaccination varies widely across LTCFs due to staff behaviors, LTCF practices, and patient factors. It is unclear how seasonal LTCF vaccination varies between cohabitating but distinct short-stay and long-stay residents. Thus, we assessed the correlation of LTCF vaccination between these populations and across seasons. DesignNational retrospective cohort using Medicare and Minimum Data Set (MDS) data. Setting and ParticipantsU.S. LTCFs. Short-stay and long-stay Medicare-enrolled residents age [≥]65 in U.S. LTCFs from a source population of residents during October 1st-March 31st in 2013-2014 (3,042,881 residents; 15,683 LTCFs) and 2014-2015 (3,143,174, residents; 15,667 LTCFs). MethodsMDS-assessed influenza vaccination was the outcome. Pearson correlation coefficients were estimated to assess seasonal correlations between short-stay and long-stay resident vaccination within LTCFs. ResultsThe median proportion of short-stay residents vaccinated across LTCFs was 70.4% (IQR, 50.0-82.7%) in 2013-2014 and 69.6% (IQR, 50.0-81.6%) in 2014-2015. The median proportion of long-stay residents vaccinated across LTCFs was 85.5% (IQR, 78.0-90.9%) in 2013-2014 and 84.6% (IQR, 76.6-90.3%) in 2014-2015. Within LTCFs, there was a moderate correlation between short-stay and long-stay vaccination in 2013-2014 (r=0.50, 95%CI: 0.49-0.51) and 2014-2015 (r=0.53, 95%CI: 0.51-0.54). Across seasons, there was a moderate correlation for LTCFs with short-stay residents (r=0.54, 95%CI: 0.53-0.55) and a strong correlation for those with long-stay residents (r=0.68, 95%CI: 0.67-0.69). Conclusion and ImplicationsIn LTCFs with inconsistent influenza vaccination across seasons or between populations, targeted vaccination protocols for all residents, regardless of stay type, may improve successful vaccination in this vulnerable patient population. Brief summaryIn LTCFs, influenza vaccination was moderately correlated across all residents, but varied across seasons. Inconsistent vaccination among cohabitating residents may increase infection risk in LTCFs.