KEYWORDS:
Assessment, Pennsylvania (PA), Private Providers, Site Visits, Vaccines for Children

BACKGROUND:
The National Immunization Program advocates the Assessment, Feedback, Incentive, and eXchange (AFIX) model to effectively increase childhood immunization coverage rates to improve provider practices. Subsequently, the Pennsylvania Department of Health enhanced quality assurance (QA) efforts among private Pennsylvania Vaccines for Children (PA VFC) providers by incorporating Clinic Assessment Software Application (CASA) evaluations into QA site visits beginning July 2000.

OBJECTIVE(S):
To conduct a CASA evaluation at all routine QA site visits, share the coverage level results with the VFC providers, and to provide direction on methods to improve their immunization delivery processes.

METHOD(S):
The PA VFC-AFIX initiative included:
- Promoting CASA as a component of the QA site visit protocol to gain provider acceptance of the evaluation;
- Creating a positive educational experience between the provider contact and the site surveyor to strengthen the provider/VFC program relationship;
- Presenting site visit findings to the VFC provider; and,
- Equipping providers with methods to improve provider immunization delivery processes.

RESULT(S):
CASA evaluations were conducted at 402 private VFC provider sites between July 2000 and June 2001. Feedback regarding immunization coverage levels by 24 months of age was provided during each site visit.

CONCLUSIONS(S):
CASA evaluations lend credibility to the PA VFC Program by providing objective information to communicate immunization coverage levels and recommendations for improvement to each VFC provider.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
How CASA results provide valid measurement information that is essential in the development of intervention strategies to improve childhood immunization coverage rates.