Building Partnerships Between Ob-Gyns and State Health Department Immunization Programs

Background: Many women view their ob-gyn as their primary care provider. Incorporating immunization within ob-gyn practice can improve access to necessary immunizations for adolescent/adult women.  In addition, state officials have encountered numerous barriers to reaching ob-gyn providers and their staff.  Providing training to ob-gyn practices on immunization through collaboration with their respective state health department (SHD) led to the development of a joint effort between the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the following state immunization programs:  Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.

Setting: The sixty onsite, office based immunization trainings took place in the offices of obstetrician-gynecologists. Fifteen trainings took place in each of the four District V states

Population: This project targets improving immunization rates among adolescent and adult women.

Project Description: Each of the sixty ob-gyn practices received on-site training conducted by SHD staff, facilitated by College staff. These state specific trainings were developed by SHD and program staff.  Prior to training, a pre-test was administered to provide baseline immunization information. Three months following the pre-test, a post-test was sent to assess the intervention.

Results/Lessons Learned: The largest increase for adding a new vaccine was Tdap which increased from 40% to 51%.  In addition, 1/4 of respondents added Hepatitis B, MMR or both. The responses suggest that with more time, the immunization programs will expand further.  An additional 1/3 (32%) of sites reported that they now have an immunization coordinator. Having an immunization coordinator is important to sustainability of practice's immunization efforts.  The percentage of sites who now report having a SHD contact person is 83% . By creating sustainable partnerships between SHDs and practices, ob-gyn offices have an immunization expert to contact when questions arise.  In summary, project results when comparing the pre-test and post-test data indicate increased immunization activity among the practices.