Office manager and nurse perspectives on facilitators of adult immunization.
OBJECTIVE
To assess which characteristics of primary care practices serving low- to middle-income white and minority patients relate to pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) and influenza vaccination rates.


METHODS
In an intentional sample of 18 primary care practices, PPV and influenza vaccination rates were determined for a sample of 2289 patients >or=65 years old using medical record review. Office managers and lead nurses were surveyed about their office systems for providing adult immunizations, beliefs about PPV and influenza vaccines, and their own vaccination status. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses were used to account for the clustered nature of the data.


RESULTS
Sampled patients were most frequently female (61%) and white (83%), and averaged 76 years of age. Weighted vaccination rates were 61.1% for PPV and 52.5% for influenza; rates varied by practice. Using HLM, with patient age and race entered as level 1 variables and office factors entered as level 2 variables, time allotted for an annual well visit was associated with a higher likelihood of influenza vaccination (odds ratio [OR] = 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02, 1.07; P = .003). Nurse influenza vaccination status was associated with a higher likelihood of PPV vaccination (OR = 3.81; 95% CI = 1.49, 9.78; P = .009).


CONCLUSIONS
In addition to race and age, visit length and the nurses' vaccination status were associated with adult vaccination rates. Quality improvement initiatives for adult vaccination might include strengthening social influence of providers and/or ensuring that adequate time is scheduled for preventive care.
Nowalk
Mary Patricia
MP
Department of Family Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. tnowalk@pitt.edu
Tabbarah
Melissa
M
Hart
Jonathan A
JA
Fox
Dwight E
DE
Raymund
Mahlon
M
Wilson
Stephen A
SA
Zimmerman
Richard K
RK
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D009740:Nursing Staff; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D007252:Influenza Vaccines