Scattered Records Make Measuring Coverage Difficult.(children's immunization records need to be consolidated to help determine individual immunization needs)

2001 MAR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) --

by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Many parents use several different providers to get their children immunized, creating a paper trail that's often impossible to follow.

"Lack of a consolidated immunization record may lead to problems with determining individual immunization needs at office visits as well as measuring vaccination coverage levels of a clinician's practice or a community's population," said S. Stokley and colleagues, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.

Stokley's team evaluated immunization coverage levels using data from "all responding immunization providers compared with: 1) the most recent immunization provider's records; 2) the first immunization provider's records; and 3) a randomly selected immunization provider's records."

The researchers also sought to identify characteristics from the patients' most recent provider that may be associated with the parent reporting incomplete immunization histories. They obtained data from the 1995 National Immunization Provider Record Check Study (NIPRCS) to help with the analysis.

According to the authors, NIPRCS reported immunization histories of children aged 19 to 35 months included in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Stokley et al. sent physicians a two-page survey, asking them to report all immunizations (type and date) the child received, regardless of the provider who administered the shots. The survey also asked about the child's first and most recent visit dates to that particular practice.