Thursday, December 8, 2005
137

A Pilot Project to Provide Hepatitis B Vaccine to Adults in the Public Health STD Clinic Setting

Julie S. Townsend, Lisa Davis, Jim Lee, and Rita R. Espinoza.



Learning Objective:

By the end of the presentation participants will be able to integrate hepatitis B vaccination into STD clinics.


Background:

Adults at high risk for hepatitis B infection are a difficult population to target for vaccination through traditional health care. Public health STD clinics offer an accessible setting for reaching high risk adults. However, it was unknown whether clients would be receptive to receiving the vaccine series and if clinics could effectively incorporate vaccination into their clinic services.


Setting:

Eighteen public health STD clinics in Texas.


Population e.g. API Youth, MSM, IDU:

Public health STD clients 19 years and older.


Project Description:

In December 2002, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) purchased 39,000 doses of adult hepatitis B vaccine. The immunization and STD programs collaborated to pilot a project to administer hepatitis B vaccine to adult clients in select public health STD clinics. STD coordinators across the state were contacted regarding their participation in the pilot project. Eighteen STD clinics across the state of Texas voluntarily agreed to participate in the project. Vaccine was allocated based on the average number of STD clients receiving services monthly over the past year and then multiplied by estimated vaccine uptake for dose 1 (45%), 2 (49%), and 3 (25%). Each month, the participating clinics submitted monthly reports detailing the number of doses administered by age group and by series dose number. In order to reduce vaccine wastage, vaccine inventories were monitored monthly and vaccine was replenished as needed.


Results/Lessons Learned:

As of April 2005, over 31,000 doses of hepatitis B vaccine were administered to STD clients in the participating clinics. An estimated 38% of clients returned for the 2nd dose, 48% for the 3rd dose, and 18% completed the series. In order to calculate a true measure of vaccine uptake, the number of STD clients offered hepatitis B vaccine each month should have been collected.

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See more of The 2005 National Viral Hepatitis Prevention Conference