As key members of the school environment, it is important for school employees to be vaccinated. Employees are in direct contact with children in close quarters for long periods of time and such an environment can easily serve as an outbreak center for vaccine-preventable communicable diseases such as measles. Despite the fact that most school employees believe vaccines are safe and effective and many school employees report they are up-to-date with their vaccines, a closer examination reveals discrepancy between belief and behavior. As a vaccine advocate, the school nurse can be influential in providing adult vaccination education for school employees, thus increasing awareness of the importance of adult vaccines and knowing one's vaccination status. Additionally, school nurses might need to meet with school district policymakers to promote vaccine mandates for school employees and to assist in the creation of containment plans in the event of a measles outbreak at school.

Schools are group settings where vaccine-preventable diseases can spread quickly, especially if vaccination rates are suboptimal. Vaccination of school children has been the subject of many studies; however, data are lacking regarding the vaccination status, vaccination perceptions, and potential barriers to vaccination for school employees. Method: A questionnaire was developed to measure school employees' perceptions,awareness of current vaccination status, and potential barriers to vaccinations. This study included a convenience sample of 277 employees from a small urban school district located in central Utah. Results: Adult vaccination knowledge is lacking in the school employee population, with over half believing they were fully vaccinated even though 57.8% had not had an influenza vaccination this season. Many school employees were unaware of their vaccination status for highly virulent diseases such as measles and pertussis. In addition, most subjects believed vaccinations were safe and effective, although they believed vaccinations were more important for children than adults. Almost half of respondents believed vaccine mandates should exist for school employees. Conclusion: Knowledge gaps regarding adult vaccines can be positively influenced by nurses, especially school nurses. These knowledge gaps may be especially important to bridge concerning adults working in the school setting, an environment ideal for the spreading of communicable diseases.