Practical Approaches to Optimize Adolescent Immunization

Abstract

With the expansion of the adolescent immunization schedule during the past decade, immunization rates notably vary by vaccine and by state. Addressing barriers to improving adolescent vaccination rates is a priority. Every visit can be viewed as an opportunity to update and complete an adolescent's immunizations. It is essential to continue to focus and refi ne the appropriate techniques in approaching the adolescent patient and parent in the offi ce setting. Health care providers must continuously strive to educate their patients and develop skills that can help parents and adolescents overcome vaccine hesitancy. Research on strategies to achieve higher vaccination rates is ongoing, and it is important to increase the knowledge and implementation of these strategies. This clinical report focuses on increasing adherence to the universally recommended vaccines in the annual adolescent immunization schedule of the

Dental provider vaccination recommendations, a parent accepted strategy for disease prevention

“…The acceptability of dental providers making preventive care recommendations observed in the current study is consistent with parents' acceptance of other venues for vaccination, such as school-based health centers (70%) and public health clinics (74%) and pharmacies (29%). 3,12 Given there is less primary medical care utilization from childhood to early adulthood 21 and many adolescents receive preventive dental care twice a year, dental visits offer a unique opportunity to recommend preventive care services such as vaccinations.…”

“…2 The American Academy of Paediatrics cites the need for improvement in vaccination rates. 3 A model suggests that increasing HPV vaccine coverage to 80% for 13 birth cohorts of U.S. girls 12 and under could avoid 53,300 lifetime cervical cancer cases. 4 Given that most flu-associated pediatric deaths are in children who were not vaccinated, estimates show that vaccination could reduce risk of death by 50% for children in high-risk categories and two-thirds for children with no high-risk conditions.…”

“…Parents often list provider recommendation as the top reason for receiving or intending to receive a vaccine 7 and has been shown to significantly increase vaccination uptake. 3 However, the power of primary care provider recommendations may be limited for adolescents, who have fewer routine medical visits than younger children. [8][9][10] Despite strategies such as patient reminder and recall systems, electronic health record prompts, and educational programs, vaccination rates have been slow to increase.…”

“…[8][9][10] Despite strategies such as patient reminder and recall systems, electronic health record prompts, and educational programs, vaccination rates have been slow to increase. 3 One suggested solution is for health care settings beyond traditional primary medical care, such as pharmacies and dental offices, to provide vaccines or vaccine recommendations. These non-traditional settings could "augment the vaccination efforts of more traditional settings".…”

“…11 Surveys indicate parents are accepting of alternative settings such as school-based health centers, emergency departments, pharmacies, or medical specialty offices for vaccinations. 3,12 Dental clinics are one example of a non-traditional setting that may provide additional opportunities for a trusted provider to give a strong recommendation for a variety of preventive care services. 13 Dental clinics and vaccinations could be a particularly good fit for vaccine recommendations, given the rise in oropharyngeal cancers associated with HPV 14 and the recent interest in medical dental integration, a concept where dentists and medical providers work together to ensure wholistic patient care by recommending appropriate preventive care across disciplines as needed.…”