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Using data to improve immunization rates in Shelby County toddlers
The Tennessee Immunization Program (TIP) conducts an annual evaluation to measure performance in providing recommended immunizations to infants up to 24 months of age. This report analyzes the performance of the State and each public health region individually, in on-time infant immunization coverage. For over 10 years, Shelby County lagged behind other counties in percentage of children with the recommended ration of vaccines by the age of 24 months.
Description
The TIP disseminates a monthly report listing infants aged from 20 - 24 months who are late in receiving the fourth dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccines. Children 20 - 22 months old received intervention from clinic staff that involved intensive telephonic outreach for appointment scheduling and adding alerts to the clinic registration screen. Those aged from 22 - 24 months received intervention by Immunization Program staff that included notifications of concern mailed to parents and requests for record updates. After 12 months, the percentage of children with late vaccines had decreased by 9% and concurrently the percentage of children with complete immunizations in the 24-Month old survey improved by 3%, bringing Shelby County from the lowest percentage of 13 regions to 7th place of 13 regions.
Lessons Learned
Data provided for one purpose can be used by local public health programs to evaluate local program performance and measure improvements in care outcomes.
Implications/Recommendations
This an excellent example of using data (evidence) to guide interventions and to measure the effectiveness of interventions.
Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programsLearning Objectives:
Describe targeted approaches taken to improve completion of required immunizations by the age of 24 months old
Demonstrate use of data to guide quality improvement interventions in an urban public health department
Keyword(s): Immunizations, Quality Improvement
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal investigator, presenter and publisher of multiple grants and research projects on targeted health interventions and I have managed the Imminization Program on behalf of Shelby County for over three years. Among my scientific interests has been the evaluation of interventions to improve care..
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.