Focus On: Influenza

Page reviewed and updated: November 2022

Influenza is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death. Every flu season is different, and infection can affect people differently. The National Institutes of Health reports the following statistics of a typical flu season:

  • Up to one in five Americans gets sick.
  • More than 200,000 are hospitalized.
  • More than 36,000 die.
The single best way to prevent against the flu is yearly vaccinations. The NIH recommends that everyone six months or older gets a flu vaccine every season. Universal vaccination will expand protection to more people, but it is particularly important for those at high risk of serious complications. This includes anyone with a chronic illness, children younger than five years, adults 65 years or older, pregnant women and nursing home residents.
 

To learn more about influenza, and to keep yourself and those around you healthy this season, please explore the content below.

What's New

NCPD Immunizations Earn 5.5 contact hours and save $29.90!

Free Recognizing and Managing Adult Viral Infections [Nursing Pocket Card]
Lippincott® NursingCenter®, November 2022


 
 

Flu Basics

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Free Recognizing and Managing Influenza [Nursing Pocket Card]
Lippincott® NursingCenter®, September 2021

NCPD Nurses on the Front Line: The 1918 Influenza and COVID-19 Pandemics
Nursing2021, August 2021

Buy Measured Performance and Vaccine Administration After Decision Support and Office Workflow Changes for Influenza Vaccination
Journal for Healthcare Quality, November/December 2020

NCPD Influenza: Are you ready?
Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, November/December 2018

Free Nurses: Be Flu Ready!
Lippincott® NursingCenter®, January 2018

Free What is Herd Immunity? 
Lippincott® NursingCenter®, January 2018

Free Staying Healthy This Flu Season
Lippincott® NursingCenter®, December 2017

Vaccination

Buy Improving Influenza Vaccination Rates in an Underserved Primary Care Clinic Using a Simple Educational Tool
Quality Management in Health Care, April/June 2022

Free Online Resources About Vaccination
Nursing2018, December 2018

Free Preventable Diseases: Advocating for Vaccination
The Nurse Practitioner, August 2019

Free SHARE the Flu Vaccine Recommendation [INFOGRAPHIC]
Lippincott® NursingCenter®, December 2017
 

Buy Encourage Patients To Roll Up Their Sleeves for Influenza Vaccination!
Nursing2015, November 2015

Free Influenza Vaccination as a Component of an Influenza Prevention and Control Bundle
Home Healthcare Now, September 2015

Vaccination in Special Populations

Healthcare Providers

Free Mandatory Flu Vaccination
Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, January/February 2020


Free  Nurses' Most Important Role This Holiday Season: Get Vaccinated
Nursing2016, October 2016
 

Immunocompromised Patients

Buy Researching Flu Vaccine Safety for Immunotherapy Patients
Oncology Times, June 5, 2019
 

Older Adults

Free Educational Intervention Improves Vaccination Rates in Older Patients
AJN, American Journal of Nursing, July 2019

Buy Improving Vaccination Rates in Older Adults: A Quality Improvement Project
The Nurse Practitioner, April 2019
 

Pediatrics

Buy Feasibility of Social Distancing Practices in US Schools to Reduce Influenza Transmission During a Pandemic
Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, July/August 2020

Buy Text Message Quality Improvment Project for Influenza Vaccine in a Low-Resource Largely Latino Pediatric Population
Journal for Healthcare Quality, November/December 2019

Buy Utilizing Information Technology to Improve Influenza Vaccination in Pediatric Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Gastroenterology Nursing, July/August 2019
 

Homeless

Buy Vaccination Capability Inventory of Community, Migrant, and Homeless Health Centers: A Survey Report
Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, March/April 2020

Buy Increasing Influenza Vaccination Acceptance in the Homeless: A Quality Improvement Project
The Nurse Practitioner, November 2019

Infection Control

Buy Leveraging predictive analytics to reduce influenza and COVID-19-related adverse events
Nursing2022, March 2022

NCPD Infection Prevention and Control Core Practices: A Roadmap for Nursing Practice
Nursing2018, August 2018
 

Free Brushing Up On Isolation Guidelines [INFOGRAPHIC]
Lippincott NursingCenter.com, April 2017

Free Transmission-Based Isolation Precautions for Common Pathogens [INFOGRAPHIC]
Lippincott NursingCenter.com, April 2017