Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Ilene Timko Burns.
Too many children and adults in the United States develop vaccine-preventable diseases each year. Patients, parents, and providers face a variety of barriers that cause us to fall short of our immunization goals. This article discusses ways in which providers can surmount those barriers and improve immunization rates.
Routine vaccines include those listed on the Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule and the Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule. The disease burden, rationale for vaccination, efficacy, adverse reactions, and recommendations are discussed in relation to each vaccine. Pictures of vaccine-preventable diseases are included.
This review of the recommendations for routine vaccines includes those used on the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule and the Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule. The rationale is provided for recent changes, such as encouraging influenza vaccination of healthy children aged 6 through 23 months and recommending that annual influenza vaccination begin at age 50. The risks and benefits of vaccination are discussed, including disease burden, rationale for vaccination, efficacy, adverse reactions, and recommendations. Pictures of vaccine-preventable diseases are included.
Immunization rates in the United States still fall short of the Healthy People 2010 goals for children and adults. To improve rates of immunization, physicians need to understand and address barriers to immunization, including fragmented health-care delivery, missed opportunities to vaccinate, and the patient's fear of adverse reactions. This article addresses these issues and suggests strategies by which rates can be improved, such as patient reminders, standing orders, and assessment of and feedback on practitioner performance. Additionally, it provides suggestions to help physicians better communicate vaccine risks and benefits to their patients, potentially affecting an individual's acceptance of those risks. It describes the appropriate use of materials such as the Vaccine Information Statements. Physicians should also be prepared to answer patients' questions about alleged or controversial vaccine adverse events.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a nurse-initiated chart review and prompt to physicians is an effective method to increase immunization rates. STUDY DESIGN: This study was a controlled trial with systematic assignment of children to intervention or control groups based on chart number. Each day, a nurse reviewed the charts of children to be seen that day who were in the intervention group. The nurse prepared a 1-page form about the child's immunization status that requested permission from the physician to administer needed vaccines and attached the form to the chart. The duration of the study period was 1 year. POPULATION: Nine hundred ninety-seven pediatric patients attending 2 inner-city primary care health centers. OUTCOME MEASURED: On-time immunization rates in both groups. RESULTS: Among children eligible to receive vaccines during the study period, a higher percentage in the intervention group received on-time vaccines for diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis-4 (DTP4; 51% vs 36%; P=.03), oral polio vaccine-3 (OPV3; 70% vs 56%, P=.04), and measles/mumps/rubella-1 (42% vs 26%; P=.01) than did children in the control group. No statistically significant differences were noted for DTP3, DTP5, hepatitis B3, or OPV4. No statistically significant difference was noted for the combined series (ie, all age-appropriate immunizations as recommended by the 1995 Childhood Immunization Schedule of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). CONCLUSIONS: The chart prompt increased on-time immunizations for some antigens.