An immunization quality improvement learning collaborative in the college health setting

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Preventive Medicine
• Vaccinology

Background:

• College student health centers (SHCs) play a crucial role in student well-being.
• Vaccination administration for influenza (flu), human papillomavirus (HPV), and meningococcal serogroup B (MenB) is vital for this demographic.
• Optimizing immunization delivery in SHCs can significantly impact public health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the administration of flu, HPV, and MenB vaccinations within college SHCs.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual learning collaborative in improving vaccination coverage rates.
• To identify best practices for immunization delivery in a university setting.

Main Methods:

• A 7-month virtual learning collaborative was implemented for improvement teams from 45 US-based SHCs.
• A pre-post-intervention design was employed to assess changes in vaccination coverage.
• Vaccination data were compared between May 2017 and May 2018 for unvaccinated students at the academic year's start.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in vaccination coverage were observed across key vaccines.
• Flu vaccine coverage rose by 14.3 percentage points to 32.3% (p < .01).
• HPV vaccine coverage increased by 3.9 points (≥1 dose) to 7.8% (p < .05) and 0.7 points (≥3 doses) to 1.5% (p < .05).

Conclusions:

• Participation in a virtual learning collaborative is an effective strategy for SHCs to improve vaccination delivery.
• The findings suggest that collaborative learning models can enhance immunization rates among college students.
• Implementing best practices through such programs can lead to measurable improvements in student health.