Medical Residency Training in Vaccine Safety Communication: Gaps and Recommended Strategies for Improvement

Background: Despite progress in immunization rates in the U.S., vaccine safety concerns remain a barrier to immunization. One avenue to reduce this barrier is to survey, evaluate and improve resident physician training regarding strategies for communicating vaccine benefits and risks. The majority of resident education on immunizations occurs during rotations in community-based, primary care settings, often without a formal curriculum. A consistent, evidence-based curriculum needs to be developed. To that end, clear knowledge is needed about what is being taught in this area, and what residents, residency directors, and practicing physicians believe would be most effective communication approaches and tools for to address vaccine safety issues.

Setting: Residency training programs (pediatrics, family practice and internal medicine) nationwide.

Population: Medical residents (pediatrics, family practice and internal medicine), residency program directors, and practicing physicians.

Project Description: Partners from Children’s Health Systems Inc (the AAP-CA Foundation), UC San Diego, UC Davis, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, and Stanford University received ARRA funds through the CDC to generate and evaluate vaccine communication residency training data, with a goal of developing training curricula. Three focus groups with medical residents, two with residency program directors, and two each with practicing physicians who immunize pediatric and adult patients will be held. A web-based survey will reach a broader medical resident base. Questions include risk communication and vaccine safety information currently taught, identification of best practices, and gaps.

Results/Lessons Learned: Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data regarding current residency vaccine safety communication practices and gaps to be addressed will be presented. Lessons learned will include best practices and specific approaches to improve vaccine safety communication by physicians.