Immunization documentation practices and vaccine-preventable disease surveillance capacity among institutions of higher education in Indiana

ABSTRACT

Objective: Complete and accurate documentation of immunization records and surveillance of disease transmission are critical to the public health response to outbreaks of communicable disease in institutions of higher education (IHEs). This study aims to describe immunization documentation practices and disease surveillance capacity among IHEs in Indiana in order to inform public health action. Methods: IHEs in Indiana were identified and included in the study if they offered on-campus housing and had a dedicated student health center. Phone surveys were administered in September 2015 to each institution, inquiring about current immunization documentation policies and practices, disease surveillance capacity, and use of statewide electronic reporting systems. Additionally, IHE websites were searched to identify immunization documentation requirements for matriculating students. Results: Surveys were completed for 33 of 38 eligible IHEs. Twenty-three (70%) IHEs reported that student immunization records are entered into an accessible electronic system or database. Matriculating student immunization requirements were identified for 32 institutions. Of these, 22 (69%) required a physician-signed proof of immunization. No IHEs reported documenting historical immunizations in the statewide electronic immunization system and three IHEs (9%) reported utilizing the state electronic disease surveillance program. Conclusions: Immunization documentation practices vary among IHEs in Indiana and use of statewide immunization and disease reporting systems is minimal. Robust utilization of immunization and disease surveillance systems has been shown to improve public health response to communicable disease outbreaks. Improving mutual understanding of policy and practice between health departments and IHEs could improve the ability to respond to public health challenges.

KEYWORDS:

• Immunizations
• disease surveillance
• infectious disease

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge staff of the Epidemiology Resource Center (Pamela Pontones, Shawn Richards, Joshua Clayton, Jennifer Brown, Charles Clark, and Deborah Nichols), the ISDH Immunizations program, and the ISDH Office of Public Affairs (Jennifer O'Malley) for their comments and contributions to this project and the development of this manuscript. Additionally, we would like to thank Rohan Maniar, who helped us supplement this study with additional data from other states regarding higher education engagement by public health departments.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America. Since no human subjects, protected health information, or any other identifiable information were involved in this study, Institutional Review Board approval was not sought.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.