Physician attitudes towards influenza immunization and vaccine mandates

Aim: We surveyed physicians' opinions and acceptance of influenza immunization. Scope: A web-based survey was sent to all physicians in two academic departments during spring 2009. Results: 227 (40.5%) physicians responded. Physicians who frequently cared for high-risk patients self-reported higher immunization rates than physicians with infrequent contact (P=0.0002). There were no significant differences in immunization rates between emergency medicine (EM) and internal medicine (IM), between those with and without children at home, nor by age group. A majority (84.6%) supported mandatory vaccination. IM physicians were more supportive of mandates than EM physicians (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Self-reported immunization rates were high among study physicians. Acceptance of mandatory vaccination was substantial, but varied by specialty. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.