Related Experiment Videos
Are immunizations an incentive for well-child visits?
1Department of Maternal and Child Health, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. nhughart@phnet.sph.jhu.edu
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
|July 1, 1997
Summary
Immunizations do not appear to incentivize well-child visits for children. Attendance patterns suggest that separating vaccination and checkup appointments will not negatively impact well-child care utilization.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Well-child care is crucial for monitoring child development and administering immunizations.
- The 'incentive hypothesis' suggests immunizations may drive attendance at well-child visits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate if childhood immunizations serve as a motivator for parents to attend well-child care appointments.
- To examine the relationship between parental beliefs, visit patterns, and immunization status.
Main Methods:
- Medical records were audited for immunization and well-child visit data.
- Parents were interviewed to categorize them into four groups based on motivation for well-child visits and immunizations.
- Attendance rates and immunization status were compared across parent groups.
Main Results:
- Most parents were motivated for well-child visits regardless of immunizations (73.3%).
- A small percentage were vaccine-motivated (18.3%) or checkup-motivated (3.4%).
- No significant difference in attendance was observed between immunization and non-immunization visits; attendance declined with age.
Conclusions:
- Findings do not support the incentive hypothesis in this urban population.
- Clinicians can be reassured that offering immunizations separately from well-child visits may not reduce overall attendance for routine care.