KEYWORDS:
Partnership, Health Care Community Notification, Provider Enrollment

BACKGROUND:
The State of Texas is a high priority area in the United States due to low 4:3:1 vaccination levels. The Texas legislature determined that deficiencies exist in the service delivery arena. In an effort to improve the partnership between the Texas Vaccines for Children Program (TVFC) and the health care community, the legislature passed a law requiring that the Texas Department of Health notify all health care workers in Texas that the TVFC is available as a resource.

OBJECTIVE(S):
To educate Texas healthcare workers about the TVFC.

METHOD(S):
From August thru September 2001, brochures and letters were developed and mailed to 323,823 physicians, physician assistants, registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, pharmacists, and paramedics in Texas, informing them about the TVFC. The mail-out included a postage-paid return postcard for health care workers to return if they were interested in receiving further information about TVFC. Postcards returned to the TVFC were sent to the Public Health Region that the provider is located in. The Public Health Region followed up with the information requests via telephone and/or mail, and eligible providers were enrolled into the TVFC. Interested health care workers who were not able to enroll in TVFC were encouraged to be an advocate for vaccinations in their communities and were given local resources to contact.

RESULT(S):
Project is ongoing and will be completed by April 30, 2002.

CONCLUSIONS(S):
Upon completion of the campaign, data will be tabulated and analyzed to assess the level of interest generated, determine the impact on provider enrollment into the TVFC, and determine the impact of a mass mail-out as an effective means of increasing provider participation in the TVFC.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Describe method for recruiting providers on a large-scale basis.