Julie Frasco, Community Health Nursing, Maricopa County Department of Public Health, 926 E McDowell Road, Ste. 208, Phoenix, AZ, USA, Christine F. Mahon, Office of Community Health Nursing, Maricopa County Department of Pu, 926 E. McDowell Suite 208, Phoenix, AZ, USA, and Machrina Smith, Department of Public Health, Maricopa County, 926 East McDowell, Suite 208, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
BACKGROUND:
Maricopa County is the fourth largest county in the US with 3.7 million residents. Beginning with the 2005-2006 school year the state of Arizona will require proof of varicella vaccine or history of disease for entry to childcare, kindergarten, 1st and 7th grades. Parental recall of disease will be accepted. School nurses and childhood immunization providers may accept this history without physician or laboratory verification. The historical disease data will be entered into the Arizona State Infant Immunization System. This registry is accessible to schools and vaccine providers. There are potentially 300,000 children impacted by this requirement in 174 school districts in the county. Varicella coverage levels for 2 year olds is 80+%.
OBJECTIVE:
To assure the effective implementation of the varicella requirement.
METHOD:
A strategic, bi-lingual communication/education plan was developed and implemented. Meetings were held with school nurses to discuss implications/impact of the requirement, tools for collecting data, and parent/provider education strategies. Follow up meetings were held to monitor progress and incorporate stakeholder input. The marketing strategy included local media coverage, campaign poster featuring known pediatric infectious disease specialist, and a parent letter explaining the initiative. Community Health Nurses (CHN) visited schools to assist with requirement implementation. Private providers received education through the local chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and through CHN consultation visits.
RESULT:
It is expected that a vigorous communication plan will reduce the number of children requesting varicella vaccine/disease verification at the beginning of the school year thus ensuring children are not unnecessarily excluded from class or over vaccinated. This should be cost saving to both schools and providers.
CONCLUSION:
Beginning the implementation of a new vaccine requirement with a comprehensive communication plan for all stakeholders is critical.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Discuss strategies for communicating new vaccine requirement to all stakeholders.
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