Use of Person Locator Service to Facilitate Immunization Information System-Based Adolescent Reminder Project.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of using a person locator service to reduce undeliverable addresses for an immunization information system (IIS)-based reminder project. DESIGN: Return mail was compared at address-difference levels between original IIS addresses and updated addresses. SETTING: Minnesota residents were targeted for an immunization reminder postcard based on address. PARTICIPANTS: Both 11- and 12-year-olds with a Minnesota address in Minnesota's IIS. INTERVENTION An immunization reminder postcard was mailed to households of participants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Reminder postcard return rates were tracked for address-difference levels between original IIS addresses and updated addresses. Return mail rates were track at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level and analyzed for demographic characteristic associations. RESULTS: Postcards had significantly lower odds of return when an address was confirmed (odds ratio [OR] = 0.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.08-0.1; P < .001) or had major updates (OR = 0.47; 95% CI, 0.44-0.49; P < .001) than when no new address information was obtained. Significant, positive associations were found between return rate and both ZCTA-level poverty rate (γ = 0.235, P < .001) and ZCTA-level percentage of nonwhite residents (γ = 0.301, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Use of a person locator service is a promising method for reducing the barrier incorrect address information poses to successful reminder/recall notification. Implementation of person locator services could improve the data quality of address information in the IIS and success of outreach attempts by IIS users.