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Childhood immunization: Availability of primary care providers in Ontario
Sandra Romain1, Michael A Schillaci
1University of Toronto, Social Sciences, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4.
Insights
Higher numbers of family physicians and pediatricians correlate with better childhood immunization rates in Ontario. Increasing these healthcare professionals may improve access to essential child vaccinations and preventive care.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
- Healthcare Workforce Analysis
Background:
- Childhood immunization is crucial for public health.
- Understanding the impact of healthcare provider availability on immunization rates is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between childhood immunization coverage and the number of family physicians, pediatricians, and public health nurses in Ontario.
- To determine if healthcare provider density influences vaccination accessibility.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of publicly available data.
- Examined immunization coverage levels against the relative numbers of family physicians, pediatricians, and public health nurses per 1000 residents in Ontario.
- Compared temporal trends between provider numbers and immunization rates.
Main Results:
- Correlations were observed between immunization coverage and the relative numbers of family physicians (rho = 0.60) and pediatricians (rho = 0.70).
- A weaker correlation was found with public health nurses (rho = 0.40).
- Temporal analysis indicated that changes in family physician and pediatrician numbers were associated with similar changes in immunization coverage.
Conclusions:
- Increasing the number of family physicians and pediatricians may enhance access to childhood immunizations.
- This could also improve access to other cost-saving preventive care services for children.
Objective:
To examine childhood immunization levels relative to the number of family physicians, pediatricians, and public health nurses in Ontario.
Design:
Retrospective comparative analysis of publicly available data on immunization coverage levels and the relative number of family physicians, pediatricians, and public health nurses.
Setting:
Ontario.
Participants:
Seven-year-old children, family physicians, pediatricians, and public health nurses in Ontario.
Main Outcome Measures:
The association between immunization coverage levels and the relative number of family physicians, pediatricians, and public health nurses.
Results:
We found correlations between immunization coverage levels and the relative number (ie, per 1000 Ontario residents) of family physicians (rho = 0.60) and pediatricians (rho = 0.70) and a lower correlation with the relative number of public health nurses (rho = 0.40), although none of these correlations was significant. A comparison of temporal trends illustrated that variation in the relative number of family physicians and pediatricians in Ontario was associated with similar variation in immunization coverage levels.
Conclusion:
Increasing the number of family physicians and pediatricians might help to boost access to immunizations and perhaps other components of cost-saving childhood preventive care.
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