An intervention that combined EMR notifications, provider education and peer-to-peer caregiver comparison helped increase influenza vaccination rates among hospitalized children fourfold, according to a study published in Hospital Pediatrics.
For the study, researchers implemented the quality improvement intervention in the inpatient units at a tertiary care children's hospital. They compared vaccination rates at the hospital during the 2016–2017 flu season, before the intervention was implemented, with the rates during the 2017-2018 season, post-intervention.
They found 46 percent of hospitalized children were discharged with at least one dose of the flu vaccine post-intervention, compared to 10 percent pre-intervention, a 4.7-fold increase.
The also was a fourfold increase in parents asking about the flu vaccination status of their children.