BackgroundAlthough research has explored influenza vaccination uptake among medical and college students, there is a dearth of research in understanding influenza vaccination uptake and attitudes toward the vaccine among future public health practitioners. Undergraduate public health students represent future public health practitioners who may be a significant educational resource for health information, including the importance of vaccinations.MethodsThis cross-sectional study utilized survey data from 158 undergraduate public health students attending a large public university in Southern California. The survey assessed public health students’ attitudes and beliefs towards the seasonal influenza vaccine and seasonal vaccination rates among this population.ResultsOver 88% of respondents reported having been encouraged to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine, while only 43.0% reported receipt. Of the students who reported not receiving the vaccine, 49.4% believed it may give them the flu, 30.4% believed there may be dangerous side effects, and 28.9% believed they were not at risk for contracting the flu. Access to health care practitioners (OR: 3.947, 95% CI [1.308–11.906]) and social encouragement (OR: 3.139, 95% CI [1.447–6.811]) were significantly associated with receipt of the seasonal influenza vaccine.ConclusionAs public health program curriculum includes information about seasonal influenza vaccination and 68% of the sample were seniors soon to be exiting the program with an undergraduate degree in public health education, this low seasonal influenza vaccination rate is disturbing. This study may add to the body of data demonstrating how knowledge of the vaccine does not always guarantee vaccine uptake. Results of the current study suggest that it may be beneficial to provide additional information targeted to public health students, aimed at mediating safety concerns and increasing social pressure to assist in improving vaccine acceptance and rates in this population. Maximizing seasonal influenza vaccination uptake by addressing attitudes, barriers and misperceptions may not only improve vaccination rates among public health students, but also in communities served by these future public health practitioners.

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Background: Seclusion in psychiatric inpatient settings is contentious, and services attempt to minimize its use. Many studies compare seclusion rates before and after the introduction of an intervention, but few control for the effect of external factors such as legislative constraints and patient characteristics.Aims: To evaluate the effect of a programme designed to manage acute arousal.Method: Seclusion rates in a six-month period incorporating a programme to manage acute arousal were compared with the previous six months. The intervention focused on formal assessment of arousal levels and an escalating set of actions by nursing staff.Results: Seclusion rates in the two periods were comparable, both before and after controlling for patient characteristics. Duration of seclusion events appeared to be heavily influenced by local legislative constraints. Conclusions:A programme designed to reduce seclusion showed no difference from baseline after taking various factors into account. This may have been at least partly because most seclusion events occurred early in an admission. Many patients arrive on the unit already requiring seclusion, and any impact of a ward programme on them is limited. Since seclusion is a comparatively uncommon event, and attributable to a minority of patients, appropriate analytic methods are required.