Relationship Between Vaccination Status and Biopsychosocial Characteristics in Sheltered Adolescents

Abstract

Introduction Homeless youth are a vulnerable population. A volunteer clinic supported by medical students in northeastern Pennsylvania provides shelter and healthcare to adolescents seeking refuge. We set out to determine the immunization status of youth in the shelter and evaluate for associations of immunization deficiency with demographics or biopsychosocial factors. Methods After IRB approval, a retrospective cohort study was performed from existing clinical records at the shelter 2/2015-9/2019. Chart abstraction included variables such as demographics (including age, sex, and race/ethnicity), biopsychosocial factors (including childhood trauma/abuse history, substance abuse history, and sexual activity), and immunization history. Results A total of 440 charts were analyzed. When comparing demographics of patients that had complete vaccine regimens versus those who did not, the race was statistically significant (p=.006). The most prominent difference in race was seen for Black/African American patients; only 19.57% had a completed vaccine regimen documented. Regarding immunization history, vaccine schedules of hepatitis B, measles mumps rubella (MMR), inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), and varicella were most likely to be complete; pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) 13, rotavirus, influenza, and human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) were least likely. There was no association found between a completed vaccine regimen and biopsychosocial variables. A larger portion of females (37.35%) completed the HPV vaccine compared to males (23.14%) (p=.009). Conclusions In this single-site study, this vulnerable, at-risk population of sheltered adolescents lacked the vaccinations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Racial disparities further compounded this vulnerability for Black/African American teens. Additionally, a significantly greater number of female patients received the HPV vaccine compared to males.

The Dynamics of the Prevalence of Acute Viral Hepatitis and the Strategies against Viral Hepatitis in Mongolia

“… 8 Also, in countries such as Taiwan and the United States, research on the correlation between non-hepatic symptoms during the infection is being actively conducted. 9 , 10 …”

Immunization Coverage in Young People Experiencing Homelessness and the Impact of a Nurse-led Program

“… 16 In Pennsylvania, only 37.2% of adolescents accessing a crisis housing service were up to date with scheduled vaccinations. 17 Across 7 cities in the USA, between 19% and 37% of youth experiencing homelessness were up to date with HPV vaccination. 18 Existing studies are often limited by the availability of records and sometimes rely on participant recall, which is recognized as an unreliable method of ascertaining vaccination status.…”