Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination Rates in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at an increased risk for vaccine-preventable illnesses, such as pneumococcal pneumonia and influenza. We hypothesized that a patient-directed educational program would increase vaccination rates of patients with IBD. We developed a written educational form that was given to all patients over a 15-month period. The form included information about the importance of vaccination and asked patients about their vaccination status. If patients indicated that they were not vaccinated, they were offered a vaccination at the time of their visit. For influenza, the vaccination rates during 3 seasons were compared. For pneumococcal pneumonia, the vaccination rates during a 6-month period before the introduction of the educational program and the rates during the 15-month period after implementation of the intervention were compared. Our form increased the percentage of patients who reported having an influenza vaccination (23% vs 47%; P<.001) and the percentage of patients who reported having a pneumococcal pneumonia vaccination (21% vs 32%; P<.001). We concluded that a simple written educational form designed to assess vaccination status and enable providers to offer same-day influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia vaccinations resulted in a significant increase in influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia vaccination rates among patients in an IBD specialty clinic.