One project I have been working on during my time at the Mat-Su Public Health Center (PHC) involves addressing the low rates for infant immunizations. To develop an action plan we strove to understand the factors that contribute to parents’ decisions not to vaccinate their young children. To identify these factors I have been assisting the nurses of the Mat-Su PHC in the organization and distribution of a survey created by Dr. Victoria Niederhauser, titled Searching for Hardships and Obstacles to Shots (SHOTS). The tool, bought through the Alaska Department of Health, classifies hardships and obstacles into the following three categories: access to immunizations, concerns about immunizations and distrust of vaccine efficacy.
I explored a number of avenues to distribute and collect this survey in the community. After researching the possibility of working with Vital Statistics, WIC and local midwiferies I was finally able to reach agreements with two local pediatricians’ offices along with a large number of day care centers. Working with local pediatricians, CCS Early Learning and day care centers to distribute the survey to the community proved to be successful. In addition, the nurses of the PHC joined me outside prominent local business in the Palmer-Wasilla area handing out the survey to parents with young children.
The Talkeetna area is also using the SHOTS survey to gain further insight into the recent decrease in immunization rates. The Talkeetna school and the Sunshine Clinic, along with the nurses of Mat-Su PHC, have been circulating the survey throughout the community.
This has been a great side project and I think the results will truly help to guide the PHC in its next steps to improving childhood immunization rates.
P.S. That is a picture of Denali, a.k.a. Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America, taken from Talkeetna Spur Rd.!
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