Partnering to improve infant immunizations: The Arizona Partnership for Infant Immunization (TAPII)

The Arizona Partnership for Infant Immunization (TAPII) is a public-private partnership intended to achieve the year 2000 goal of 90% infant immunizations. Created in 1992 as a means to develop a statewide approach to improving infant immunization rates, TAPII is a broad-based partnership that includes public health departments, managed care plans, professional organizations, medical organizations, pharmaceutical companies, businesses, the faith community, the media, and many others. TAPII's organizational structure includes a steering committee and five subcommittees: advocacy and policy, community awareness, provider awareness, survey and assessment, and strategic planning. A key accomplishment of TAPII has been the development of a statewide infant immunization registry known as the Arizona Statewide Immunization Information System (ASIIS). This registry will facilitate up-to-date immunizations of children and improve statewide immunization assessment capability. Since the advent of TAPII, infant immunization rates within private managed care plans have increased. However, significant improvement in statewide rates will require long-term strategic efforts in provider and community awareness and a fully operational statewide registry, ASIIS, which is set to begin in January 1998. TAPII has been a successful partnership for a number of reasons: private sector participation, a single and measurable goal, vision and leadership, a strong emphasis on assessment, a broad-based membership, community ownership, Governor's Office participation, health plan involvement, and full-time project staffing. As resources to improve the health of communities diminish, public-private partnerships such as TAPII can effectively consolidate resources and expertise to improve the health of populations.