Immunization Programs
Conditions
Keywords
Pediatrics, Reminder Systems, Preventive Medicine, Child Health, Appointments and Schedules
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to assess, prospectively, the effect of email reminders for well-child check (WCC) visits on adherence to these visits among those who have not yet scheduled the visit. The investigators hypothesize that sending reminders will increase scheduling WCC visits, attending WCC visits, and being up to date for the child's required immunizations beyond what occurs in the absence of these reminders.
Detailed description
Regular attendance at recommended WCC visits is associated with having up-to-date immunizations. Standard care involves scheduling a follow-up WCC visit at the end of the current visit. However, if the child's parents do not choose to schedule a follow-up visit at that time or miss a WCC visit, they may not be offered another easy opportunity to schedule one. That is, they would have to remember to schedule a visit and contact the clinic proactively. In this study, 30 days before a child is due for their WCC visit, parents who have not yet scheduled a WCC visit for up to 30 days (for 5-month-olds) or 60 days (for all other ages) after their child is due for a visit will be randomly assigned to two groups with a random number generator. One group will receive an email reminder, while the other group will not receive any reminder. The randomization of participants to different conditions will be in place until 800 participants have been identified and randomly assigned to one of the arms (estimated sample to detect at least a 10% absolute difference) or 180 days, whichever comes first. To account for delays in updating clinical databases, the final outcome data will be checked 90 days after the last eligible visit (for a maximum study period of 270 days).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALReminder
Sponsors
Geisinger Clinic
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Caregiver)
Masking description
The participants and providers will not know that email reminders were randomized. Participants who received an email (and their providers if they shared this email) will know that they have received an email, but it is not likely that they will know that other participants did not receive an email (and vice-versa).
Intervention model description
No reminder group vs. reminder group
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Parents (or contact on record) of children aged 5, 8, 11, 14, or 17 months * No WCC visits scheduled 30 days after the child's monthly birthday (for 5 month-olds) or 60 days (for all other ages) ahead of their due date for a WCC (i.e., month 6, 9, 12, 15, or 18) * Has an email address on record * Child is currently seen in Pediatric clinics under the Geisinger umbrella (has at least one prior visit)
Exclusion criteria
* Did not opt out of emails
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| WCC visit scheduled | 30-60 days from the email send date | Binary variable of scheduling a WCC visit as established by visit type, visit reasons, and billing codes (if available) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| WCC visit made | 30-60 days from the email send date | Binary variable of going to a WCC visit as established by billing codes |
| Immunization status | 60 days from the email send date | Binary variable indicating whether pediatric vaccinations are up to date, defined as having no current immunization care gaps |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hepatitis A immunization status | 60 days from the email send date | Binary variable indicating whether Hepatitis A vaccinations are up to date, defined as having no current immunization care gaps |
| Emails opened | 60 days from the email send date | Binary variable of opening the email |
| Varicella immunization status | 60 days from the email send date | Binary variable indicating whether Varicella vaccinations are up to date, defined as having no current immunization care gaps |
| Hepatitis B immunization status | 60 days from the email send date | Binary variable indicating whether Hepatitis B vaccinations are up to date, defined as having no current immunization care gaps |
| Follow-up WCC visit scheduled | 61-150 days from the email send date | Binary variable of scheduling a WCC visit as established by visit type, visit reasons, and billing codes (if available) |
| Measles, Mumps, and Rubella immunization status | 60 days from the email send date | Binary variable indicating whether Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccinations are up to date, defined as having no current immunization care gaps |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed