title: Assessing the burden of undeliverable immunization reminder and recall notifications.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the completeness and accuracy of parent contact information for the delivery of mailed reminder/recall notices using a statewide immunization information system (IIS).
  
  
  METHODS
  The Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR) was used to generate reminder and recall notifications for children ages 6 months-19 years in Michigan (2008-2009). Mailed notifications were classified as being undeliverable if they were returned to the local health department (LHD) by the US Postal Service.
  
  
  RESULTS
  20,377 notifications were mailed and 5182 (26%) were undeliverable. Undeliverable notification increased with age (reference, 6-18 months): 19-35 months (OR=1.27), 36-71 months (OR=3.03) and adolescents 11-19 years (OR=4.94). Children enrolled in Medicaid (OR=0.76) were less likely to have an undeliverable notification compared to their non-enrolled counterparts, but children who had previously received some (OR=1.07) or all vaccinations (OR=2.43) at an LHD were more likely to have an undeliverable notification.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Undeliverable reminder/recall notifications are most likely among adolescents. Efforts to identify alternate sources of parent contact information may be an important strategy to improve the successful delivery of reminder/recall notifications, especially for adolescents.
authors: Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit, Division of General Pediatrics, University of Michigan, 300 N Ingalls, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5456, USA. kjd@med.umich.edu
authors: Kevin J
authors: KJ
authors: Dombkowski
authors: Sarah L
authors: SL
authors: Reeves
authors: Shiming
authors: S
authors: Dong
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Stevenson
authors: Sarah J
authors: SJ
authors: Clark
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007223:Infant; D007256:Information Systems; D008824:Michigan; D035622:Parental Notification; D015980:Public Health Practice; D012042:Registries; D017010:Reminder Systems / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult