The Impact of Vaccine Refusal on Physician Office Visits During the Subsequent 12 Months

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Public Health
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Adherence to the routine vaccination schedule (RVS) is crucial for child health.
• Understanding factors influencing healthcare utilization among nonadherent families is important for public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between nonadherence to the RVS and physician visit frequency in young children.
• To compare the number of routine, acute, and emergency care visits between families refusing and adhering to the RVS.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of children aged 0-4 years at Keller Army Hospital.
• Comparison of 12-month visit data between families who refused RVS and age-matched controls adherent to RVS.

Main Results:

• Families refusing RVS made significantly fewer total physician visits (p = 0.0049).
• No significant difference in acute or emergency department visits was observed between groups (p = 0.494 and p = 0.077, respectively).
• Families refusing RVS had significantly fewer routine care visits compared to adherent families (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Nonadherence to the RVS is associated with reduced utilization of routine healthcare services.
• Targeted interventions may be needed to ensure children not adhering to the RVS receive necessary routine care.