Brigham Young University
College of Nursing
355 SWKT
Provo,
UT
USA
84602
Biographical Sketch:
Karlen Luthy is an Assistant Professor at BYU where she has researched reasons why parents exempt their children from receiving immunizations or hesitate immunizing their children. Most recently, Karlen worked with the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) to plan and film an educational webinar answering common questions of parents regarding vaccinations. Her doctoral project included a county-wide intervention and educational program to improve upon childhood immunization rates in Utah County. Karlen has been on the Utah County Immunization Coalition since its inception in 2005 and leads many immunization education promotion efforts. Karlen has published several articles regarding childhood immunizations, and continues to conduct research on why parents refuse or hesitate to immunize their children. As a Family Nurse Practitioner and owner of a local urgent care clinic, Karlen works closely with school nurses to improve access to childhood immunizations and routinely counsels parents regarding vaccine administration. Before graduating with her Master's Degree, Karlen worked as a school nurse for Alpine and Provo School Districts as a Registered Nurse where she was responsible for obtaining either proof of immunizations or vaccine exemption forms from parents to maintain school compliance with state law.