title: Vaccination of high-risk patients for influenza. A comparison of telephone and mail reminder methods.
abstract: During the 1984-1985 influenza season two study groups were used to compare telephone and letter reminder methods with a control group that received no reminder to determine which was the most effective strategy to increase influenza vaccination rates among the high-risk patient population of a university-based family practice. Seven hundred eighty-seven high-risk patients were randomly assigned to one of the three study groups: a mailed-reminder group, a telephone-reminder group, and a control group. Vaccination rates for both reminder methods were significantly higher than for the control group (P less than .02), and if successfully contacted, the telephone-reminder group had a significantly better vaccination rate than the mailed-reminder group (P less than .05). If successful telephone contact can be made, this reminder method is more effective than a letter reminder to increase influenza vaccination rates among high-risk patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brimberry
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011177:Postal Service; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation; D012306:Risk; D013689:Telephone; D014481:United States; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D007252:Influenza Vaccines