612 - Vaccinating Siblings in the Emergency Department, a Missed Opportunity to Address Vaccine Disparities.

Nation pediatric influenza vaccination rates reveal racial disparities with Black children (49%) trailing behind White children (60%). To overcome vaccine disparities, the CDC recommends capitalizing on all missed opportunities to vaccinate. ED parents have endorsed a sibling ED vaccination program for its convenience, and similar programs have improved vaccination rates for both patients and siblings. The feasibility and acceptability of an ED sibling vaccination program as a method to overcome racial disparities has not yet been studied.

Objective:

We aimed to 1) determine the proportion of ED patients accompanied by a sibling 2) assess parent acceptability of a sibling ED-based influenza vaccine program 3) evaluate for disparities.

Design/Methods:

Two questions were embedded within the ED electronic health record and incorporated into the nurse’s routine influenza vaccine eligibility assessment of the patient: “How many siblings are present today?” and, “If in the future, the influenza vaccine was available for siblings, would you be interested in getting your other children vaccinated for influenza while in the ED?” Responses were part of a clinical data set linked to the patient’s demographic data. Descriptive statistics and Chi square tests were used for analyses. 

Results:

From Oct 7^th – 27^th, 2022, 466 ED parents were surveyed; this represented 17.5% of ED patients screened for influenza eligibility. Overall, these children were 43% Black, 70% government insurance/self-pay, and 77% unvaccinated. 22.7% (n=106) of these ED patients presented with a sibling (mean=1.4 siblings/patient). Patients with siblings were more likely to be Black (59% vs. 41%, p< 0.05), and 41% (20/49) of their parents were interested in a sibling vaccine program. Patients with siblings were more likely to have government health insurance (86% vs 65%, p< 0.05) and 50% (33/66) of their parents were interested in a sibling vaccination program. There was no difference in the proportion unvaccinated (72% vs 78%, p=0.21), and 49% (35/72) of these parents were interested in a sibling vaccination program.

 

Conclusion(s):

Though less than a quarter of ED patients are accompanied by a sibling to the ED, an influenza vaccination program targeted to siblings may overcome vaccine disparities and is acceptable to ED parents.