Novel immunization reminder/recall approaches: rural and urban differences in parent perceptions

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Immunization reminder/recall (R/R) systems are crucial for maintaining vaccine coverage in young children.
• Understanding parental preferences for R/R messages is essential for optimizing public health strategies.
• Factors like geographic location (urban/rural) and education may influence these preferences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess parental preferences for the source of immunization reminder/recall (R/R) messages.
• To evaluate the acceptability of various R/R communication modalities.
• To identify factors influencing these preferences, including urban and rural characteristics.

Main Methods:

• A survey was conducted among parents of children aged 19-35 months in Colorado.
• Equal numbers of urban and rural parents were randomly selected.
• Mailed surveys were used, with up to four attempts per valid address.

Main Results:

• The response rate was 55% (334/607).
• Half of parents had no preference regarding the R/R message source (health department vs. child's doctor).
• Urban parents (46.7%) were more likely than rural parents (33.7%) to prefer messages from their child's doctor. Mail was the most preferred modality (57.7%), followed by telephone, email, and text. A significant portion found email (60.1%) and text (46.2%) acceptable despite not being preferred.

Conclusions:

• Many parents are willing to receive vaccination reminders from health departments and through newer methods like email and text messaging.
• Urban residence and higher education levels were linked to a preference for provider-sent R/R messages.