A pilot program to improve vaccination status for hospitalized children.
OBJECTIVES
Screening of immunization status at each health care encounter is recommended to improve immunization coverage rates but is often limited to primary care practices. A pilot intervention study was performed to ascertain the immunization status of hospitalized children and determine if development of an immunization plan before discharge would improve the vaccination status for such children.


METHODS
On the basis of power calculations estimated to detect an increase in immunization status from 60% to 70% with 80% power, 356 randomly selected children were enrolled between March 6, 2012 and June 14, 2012. Immunization records were obtained, immunization status determined, and parent/guardian informed if catch-up dose(s) were needed. If parent requested vaccine dose(s), they were administered before discharge.


RESULTS
Vaccination status was current per Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices guidelines in 73% of hospitalized children, and 27% children required catch-up dose(s) (200 doses for 95 children). Human papilloma virus vaccine (dose 1), varicella zoster vaccine (dose 2), and meningococcal conjugate vaccine were the most commonly identified dose(s) needed. Of those requiring catch-up dose(s), 25% were caught up, increasing vaccination status to 80% at 1-month post hospital discharge.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study to determine the immunization status of hospitalized pediatric patients of all ages, including adolescents, providing new data on the immunization status of the inpatient pediatric population. A pilot intervention consisting of obtaining immunization records, determining immunization status, and discussing catch-up dose(s) before discharge resulted in improvement of immunization status, suggesting that the inpatient setting may be used along with many other national strategies to help address missed vaccination opportunities.
['Pahud|Barbara|B|', 'Clark|Shannon|S|', 'Herigon|Joshua C|JC|', 'Sherman|Ashley|A|', 'Lynch|Daryl A|DA|', 'Hoffman|Amber|A|', 'Jackson|Mary Anne|MA|']
D000293:Adolescent D002648:Child D002673:Child, Hospitalized D002675:Child, Preschool D003140:Communicable Disease Control D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007223:Infant D008297:Male D008501:Medical Records, Problem-Oriented D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care D010351:Patient Discharge D058996:Quality Improvement D014611:Vaccination
vaccination hospitalized immunization inpatient