270 - A Quality Improvement project to improve COVID-19 vaccination rates and address barriers to immunization in the pediatric population

Poster Number: 270
Publication Number: 270.453

Meggan Roman, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, United States; Carly Wujek, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, United States; Jason Abbott, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, United States; Joanna Kramer, Phoenix Childrens Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, United States; Jennifer Farabaugh, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, United States; Julia Wise, Phoenix Children's Hospital- HYO, Phoenix, AZ, United States; Kristen Samaddar, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, United States

Background: Due to vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and systems barriers, COVID-19 continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality in children despite availability of a safe vaccine. Our quality improvement study aims to increase vaccine availability and minimize these barriers to best serve our pediatric patients.

Objective: To improve rate of first dose COVID-19 vaccine completion in patients for whom a vaccine order is placed in the Phoenix Children's Hospital Division of Primary, Complex Care and Adolescent Medicine outpatient clinic from a baseline average of 44% to > 80% within 6 months and sustain for 1 year.

Design/Methods: Prior to having the vaccine available in our clinic, we established a baseline by assessing the proportion of vaccinations ordered versus vaccinations administered at our facility's drive-through vaccine pod or other community sites. Subsequently, we employed interventions such as establishment of in-office vaccination and providing educational materials through sequential PDSA cycles corresponding to various age groups and dose numbers.

Results: Between September 2021 and August 2022 there were 489 orders placed for Dose 1 of the COVID-19 vaccine. Within one month of offering in-clinic COVID-19 vaccines to eligible patients, our completion rate of ordered first-dose immunizations to patients 5 years and older had increased from 44% to 72% between March and April of 2022. After introduction of our informational newsletter in April 2022, this number (72%) continued to rise to well-above our initial goal of 80% completion, reaching 89% completion by May 2022.

Conclusion(s): These data demonstrate the benefit of offering immediately available COVID-19 vaccines compared to patients' previous less-convenient option, which required them to make an additional appointment at a separate location for administration of the vaccine. It also highlights how providing useful, tangible information can optimize parental and patient comfort with the vaccine. By providing these things, we optimize convenience, transparency, accessibility and likelihood of vaccinations, ultimately resulting in increased protection of our pediatric patients against COVID-19.