Tracking boosts child immunization rate

Szilagyi

By simply tracking children's immunizations and calling on those families whose children fall behind on their shots, doctors can dramatically increase the number of children who are vaccinated as well as increase the likelihood of those children returning for regular, preventative checkups, according to a Medical Center study published in the January issue of Pediatrics.

In just 18 months, a tracking and outreach program raised rates of child immunization a full 20 percentage points (from 70 percent to 90 percent) for children with the lowest rates of immunization--those living in the poorest inner-city neighborhoods. It was so successful that Monroe County adopted and expanded the program in an effort to fully immunize 90 percent of its community's children by 2000. As a result of the program, an additional 256 children were vaccinated who would otherwise have been without defense against debilitating diseases like hepatitis, tetanus, and meningitis.

Pediatrician Peter Szilagyi of the Children's Hospital at Strong found that the high rate of child under-immunization is a result of parents who aren't aware of the vaccination schedule, don't have transportation to the doctor's office, or who may have problems more serious than their child's vaccination. Further complicating the matter, doctors themselves are often unaware of which children have had all their shots and which are behind. Even those practices that track their patients closely often have no way of reaching the children and bringing them in. Full immunization requires six visits and 16 shots before the age of 2, making the tracking process extremely complicated.

"This study exposed a lot of the problems in our health care delivery system," explained Szilagyi. "We have to reach out to families, talk to them, and find out what barriers they face in bringing their children to appointments with the doctor. Then we have to remove those barriers. The greatest vaccine in the world is useless if it doesn't get to the children who need it."