Increasing influenza immunization rates among healthcare providers in an ambulatory-based, University Healthcare Setting☆.

OBJECTIVE: Despite its 'best practice' status as an intervention to combat healthcare-related influenza, many healthcare personnel (HCP) do not seek vaccinations themselves. The objective of this study was to achieve the Healthy People [HP] 2020's influenza vaccination goal of 90% among our HCP. DESIGN: The study utilized the model for improvement, consisting of Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. Each influenza season served as a PDSA cycle until the HP 2020 vaccination goal was achieved. The quality improvement (QI) study was conducted over four influenza seasons (i.e. 2014-15; 2015-16; 2016-17 and 2017-18). SETTING: The study's setting was an ambulatory-based, university health center within a suburban university located in central New Jersey. PARTICIPANTS: Adapting the National Vaccine Advisory Committee's definition of HCP, clinical and non-clinical staff members (n = 110) participated in the QI-study. INTERVENTIONS: QI-interventions were centered on staff education/outreach, improved accessibility to influenza vaccines and frequent communication to staff over several PDSA cycles. MAIN OUTCOME & RESULTS: The QI-interventions significantly increased our overall vaccination coverage on our influenza vaccination status survey from 70.2% (2011-14 influenza seasons; n = 102) to 84.9% (2014-15 influenza season; n = 93) in PDSA 1, and 91.1% (2015-16 influenza season; n = 90) in PDSA cycle 2 (χ2 = 309.53, P < 0.001). Vaccination rates remained above the 90% performance goal during our quality control/assurance measuring periods (i.e. the 2016-18 influenza seasons). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that influenza vaccination coverage can significantly improve among HCP through the application of concurrent and multifaceted QI-interventions.

Prevalence of tubo-ovarian abscess in adolescents diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease in a pediatric emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: The rate of tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA) in adolescents with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is reported to range from 17% to 20%. However, no reports have focused specifically on the adolescent patient presenting to the emergency department (ED), regardless of whether they are treated in the inpatient or outpatient setting. Recent changes in the 2002 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for the Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and sexually transmitted infection screening programs are likely to have impacted both the prevalence of PID and the rates of its complications, particularly TOA. Given that most patients with PID are treated as outpatients, it is imperative to accurately assess the prevalence of TOA in this population. Therefore, we sought to determine the rate of TOA in female adolescents diagnosed with PID in a large urban pediatric ED. METHODS: We performed a retrospective medical record review to assess the prevalence of TOA in adolescents diagnosed with PID in the ED by an attending physician in pediatric emergency medicine. All cases were identified on the basis of the clinical criteria from the 2002 CDC Guidelines for the Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Data collected included historical and physical examination findings, and laboratory and radiological imaging results. RESULTS: Three (2.4%; 95% confidence interval, 0.5-6.7) of 127 patients diagnosed with PID in the ED who had imaging or clinical follow-up were also found to have a TOA. The mean age of the patients was 16 years. Most patients (89%) had imaging studies performed within 24 hours; most of these studies (97%) were pelvic ultrasounds. Eleven patients did not have imaging but had clinical follow-up within 72 hours. Four patients were diagnosed with PID during the study period and were lost to follow-up. CONCLUSION: The rate of TOA in adolescents diagnosed with PID in an urban pediatric ED is much lower than the rates previously reported in adolescents. This lower prevalence may be attributed to the broader 2002 CDC guidelines for diagnosing PID. In addition, community-based screening programs for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae may help to identify young women at risk for developing PID earlier in the course of infection.

Participant- and study-related characteristics predicting treatment completion and study retention in an adolescent smoking cessation trial.

PURPOSE: To determine which factors predict smoking cessation treatment completion and retention among adolescents. METHODS: In a multisite, randomized, controlled trial, the efficacy of motivational interviewing was compared with structured brief advice for smoking cessation and reduction in adolescents (n = 355) aged 14-18 years (55% female, 45% black, 12% Hispanic). Treatment spanned 12 weeks, with follow-up assessments at 24 weeks. Treatment completion was defined as completion of all five counseling sessions. Study retention was defined as completing the 24-week assessment. Participant and study variables served as predictors of treatment completion and retention. RESULTS: In all, 79% of participants completed all five counseling sessions and the same percent completed the 24-week assessment. Black race, precontemplation stage to cut back, and shorter length of time between the baseline assessment and the first counseling session were significantly associated with treatment completion. For every 7.5-day delay in starting treatment after the baseline visit, there was a 50% decrease in the odds of completing all five treatment sessions. Retention at 24 weeks was predicted by black race, younger age, greater maternal education, expectations of graduating college, and structured brief advice intervention. CONCLUSIONS: High rates of treatment completion and study retention can be achieved in a multisession, behavioral intervention for adolescent smoking cessation. Findings suggest that treatment should begin soon after the intake session to maximize treatment completion. Enhanced efforts to retain older adolescents and youth with lower academic goals and lower family income will be important in future studies.