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Vaccine coverage among teens with chronic health conditions above average
Vaccine coverage among adolescents with chronic health conditions was greater than that of healthy adolescents, highlighting important gaps in adolescent vaccination coverage, according to recent research published in The Journal of Adolescent Health.
“This study found lower vaccination rates among children with no insurance, indicating an important gap that is addressable by improved communications strategies targeting those who are eligible for vaccines through federal vaccine purchase programs, as well as potential opportunities presented by the Affordable Care Act,” Katherine Seib, MSPH, of the division of infectious diseases at Emory University, School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “Data demonstrate that having a child with a chronic illness and receiving a doctor’s recommendation had much higher odds of receiving specific vaccine.”
Katherine Seib
The researchers surveyed 686 parents of middle and high school students from 11 schools in Georgia. Parents were divided into three study groups: a parent education brochure group, a parent education brochure plus a student curriculum on recommended vaccinations, and a control group with no intervention. Survey questions were related to a child’s vaccine status, child’s chronic health conditions and child’s health insurance coverage. The study was conducted from 2011 to 2013.
Study results showed that 91% of parents reported that their child received at least one of the four recommended vaccinations. Tdap was the most common vaccine received (82%), followed by MCV4 (59%), a current flu vaccine (53%) and HPV vaccine (48%).
Sixty percent of parents reported that their child was covered by Medicaid, 34% were privately insured, and 6% reported no health insurance coverage. The researchers found that children with no health insurance had a lower prevalence of vaccination coverage compared with children covered by Medicaid (71% vs. 93%; P < .001) or private insurance (71% vs. 91%; P < .0001).
The researchers also said that vaccine coverage was higher among adolescents with chronic health conditions, compared with healthy adolescents (98% vs. 89%; P < .0001). Seib and colleagues wrote that this may be the result of parents of children with chronic health conditions having more contact with providers and having a higher perceived effectiveness of vaccines.
“Because there is still suboptimal vaccination coverage among … children with chronic health conditions, evidence-based targeted interventions for parents are needed, and the importance of a doctor’s recommendation targeted at children with chronic illnesses should be emphasized in physician training,” Seib and colleagues wrote. – by David Costill
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
