Care gap identification for meningococcal immunization
No Thumbnail Available
Authors
Meeting name
Sponsors
Date
Journal Title
Format
Other
Subject
Abstract
[Embargo until 2026-12-31] Identifying Care Gaps for Meningococcal Immunizations through the use of the Electronic Health Record Background Meningococcal disease is a vaccine-preventable disease associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Despite vaccination recommendations, adherence among adolescents remains suboptimal due to missed opportunities for vaccination (MOV). Recent increases in U.S. cases highlight the need for improved prevention strategies. This quality improvement project aimed to improve immunization status assessment and reduce MOV through enhanced immunization screening processes on a pediatric inpatient unit. Methods A pre--post interventional design was implemented on a 24-bed pediatric medical-surgical unit at a Midwestern children's hospital. Nurses received education on meningococcal vaccines and were trained to use the electronic health record's (EHR) health maintenance section alongside a screening questionnaire to assess vaccination status. Data were collected from pre-intervention and post-intervention chart reviews, nurse surveys, and parent questionnaires. Statistical analyses included Chi-square tests and Mann--Whitney U tests with significance set at p ? .05. Results Meningococcal vaccine administration during admission increased, with the proportion of patients not receiving a vaccine decreasing from 61.5% at pre-intervention to 38.5% at post-intervention (p = .03). Documentation of vaccination status improved, with incomplete documentation decreasing from 71.3% to 28.7% (p = .001). Nurse utilization of the EHR health maintenance section increased significantly, with all charts updated at post-intervention compared to 41.5% before implementation (p < .001). Conclusions Integrating EHR-based immunization review and nurse-driven screening effectively increased meningococcal vaccine identification and administration while improving staff satisfaction. Expansion of this process across pediatric units is recommended to sustain reduced missed opportunities for vaccination and enhance inpatient immunization practices.
Table of Contents
PubMed ID
Degree
Thesis Department
Rights
OpenAccess.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.