Childhood vaccine status and correlation with common nonvaccine-preventable illnesses.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Current trends in parental decision making involve alteration from vaccine schedules in children, citing concerns for altered immune function. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference in incidence of common childhood illnesses dependent on vaccination status.


METHODS
An investigator-designed survey was administered to parents of children aged 12 months to 7 years. Participants were separated into one of three groups: fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated. There were 111 total participants. Power analysis indicated a minimum of 30 participants per group to detect an 80% effect. Descriptive statistics were applied to variables with chi-square for group comparison.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicated a statistically significant difference between all three groups in the categories of ear infections, influenza, and common colds. Fully immunized group had significantly more ear infections than partial or unimmunized. The unimmunized group had significantly more colds and flu.


IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Nurse practitioner practice implications relate directly to further education of parents, support, and trust building. Many parents question the possible association between childhood vaccines and immune function and have a distrust of current research. This study showed that most common childhood illnesses are equitable across the population and not dependent on vaccine status.
['Anderson|Michelle M|MM|', 'Arvidson|Cathy|C|']
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution D002648:Child D002675:Child, Preschool D003139:Common Cold D004427:Ear Diseases D005260:Female D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice D006801:Humans D007061:Idaho D007223:Infant D007251:Influenza, Human D008297:Male D010290:Parents D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D014611:Vaccination
vaccination illness Children immunization nurse practitioner advanced practice nurse pediatric preventive health services