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Electronic reminders failed to increase HPV vaccination rates in females
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Researchers from the University of South Florida found that reminders in electronic health records did not increase the rate of initiation of the human papillomavirus vaccine series among females aged 9 to 25 years who had not yet received HPV vaccination.
Overall, 8.2% of the 61 females received the vaccination series, which was not statistically different from the 14% population estimate. The data were presented at the 1st National Immunization Conference Online.
An electronic reminder was posted in the records of 61 patients during a 3-month study period. The proportion of patients starting the HPV vaccination series was compared with the population estimate.
Age and provider type were not significantly associated with vaccination. Visit type was significantly related: 30.8% of those who had wellness visits received the vaccine vs. 2.1% of those who had acute visits. In addition, discussing vaccination status was also significantly related: 33.3% of those who discussed status received the vaccine vs. 3.9% of those who did not discuss status.
“One strategy to improve vaccination rates would be to address status and vaccinate at all visits rather than just wellness visits,” Elving Colon, MD, a resident in family medicine at the University of South Florida, said during the meeting. “Electronic reminders may still be effective tools to improve vaccination rates. Variation in the design of decision support tools needs further study.”
For more information:
- Colon E. #30294. Presented at: 1st National Immunization Conference Online; March 26-28, 2012.
Disclosure: Dr. Colon reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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