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Children overdue for immunisation: a question of coverage or reporting? An audit of the Australian Immunisation Register.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2019 Jun; 43(3):214-220.AN

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

Vaccinations in Australia are reportable to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). Following major immunisation policy initiatives, the New South Wales (NSW) Public Health Network undertook an audit to estimate true immunisation coverage of NSW children at one year of age, and explore reasons associated with under-reporting.

METHODS

Cross-sectional survey examining AIR immunisation records of a stratified random sample of 491 NSW children aged 12≤15 months at 30 September 2017 who were >30 days overdue for immunisation. Survey data were analysed using population weights.

RESULTS

Estimated true coverage of fully vaccinated one-year-old children in NSW is 96.2% (CI:95.9-96.4), 2.1% higher than AIR reported coverage of 94.1%. Of the children reported as overdue on AIR, 34.9% (CI:30.9-38.9) were actually fully vaccinated. No significant association was found between under-reporting and socioeconomic status, rurality or reported local coverage level. Data errors in AIR uploading (at provider level) and duplicate records contributed to incorrect AIR coverage recording.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite incentives to record childhood vaccinations on AIR, under-reporting continues to be an important contributor to underestimation of true coverage in NSW. Implications for public health: More reliable transmission of encounters to AIR at provider level and removal of duplicates would improve accuracy of reported coverage.

Links

Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Law C
Communicable Diseases Branch, Health Protection NSW, New South Wales. National Centre of Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian Capital Territory.
McGuire R
Communicable Diseases Branch, Health Protection NSW, New South Wales.
Ferson MJ
Public Health Unit, Planning, Population Health and Equity, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, New South Wales. School of Public Health & Community Medicine, University of New South Wales.
Reid S
Communicable Diseases Branch, Health Protection NSW, New South Wales.
Gately C
Central Coast Local Health District Public Health Unit, New South Wales.
Stephenson J
Hunter New England Local Health District Public Health Unit, New South Wales.
Campbell-Lloyd S
Communicable Diseases Branch, Health Protection NSW, New South Wales.
Gabriel S
Western Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit, New South Wales.
Housen T
National Centre of Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian Capital Territory.
Sheppeard V
Communicable Diseases Branch, Health Protection NSW, New South Wales.
Corben P
Mid North Coast and Northern NSW Local Health Districts Public Health Unit, New South Wales.
Durrheim DN
Hunter New England Local Health District Public Health Unit, New South Wales. School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, New South Wales.
NSW Public Health Network AIR Study Group
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AustraliaChildChild, PreschoolCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHealth Care SurveysHumansImmunizationImmunization ProgramsImmunization ScheduleInfantMaleRegistriesSurveys and QuestionnairesVaccinationVaccination Coverage

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

30959563

Citation

Law, Charlee, et al. "Children Overdue for Immunisation: a Question of Coverage or Reporting? an Audit of the Australian Immunisation Register." Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, vol. 43, no. 3, 2019, pp. 214-220.
Law C, McGuire R, Ferson MJ, et al. Children overdue for immunisation: a question of coverage or reporting? An audit of the Australian Immunisation Register. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2019;43(3):214-220.
Law, C., McGuire, R., Ferson, M. J., Reid, S., Gately, C., Stephenson, J., Campbell-Lloyd, S., Gabriel, S., Housen, T., Sheppeard, V., Corben, P., & Durrheim, D. N. (2019). Children overdue for immunisation: a question of coverage or reporting? An audit of the Australian Immunisation Register. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 43(3), 214-220. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12891
Law C, et al. Children Overdue for Immunisation: a Question of Coverage or Reporting? an Audit of the Australian Immunisation Register. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2019;43(3):214-220. PubMed PMID: 30959563.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Children overdue for immunisation: a question of coverage or reporting? An audit of the Australian Immunisation Register. AU - Law,Charlee, AU - McGuire,Rhydwyn, AU - Ferson,Mark J, AU - Reid,Su, AU - Gately,Colleen, AU - Stephenson,Jody, AU - Campbell-Lloyd,Sue, AU - Gabriel,Salwa, AU - Housen,Tambri, AU - Sheppeard,Vicky, AU - Corben,Paul, AU - Durrheim,David N, AU - ,, Y1 - 2019/04/08/ PY - 2018/10/01/received PY - 2019/01/01/revised PY - 2019/02/01/accepted PY - 2019/4/9/pubmed PY - 2019/8/6/medline PY - 2019/4/9/entrez KW - communicable diseases KW - immunisation KW - immunisation schedule KW - infant KW - public health practice SP - 214 EP - 220 JF - Australian and New Zealand journal of public health JO - Aust N Z J Public Health VL - 43 IS - 3 N2 - OBJECTIVE: Vaccinations in Australia are reportable to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). Following major immunisation policy initiatives, the New South Wales (NSW) Public Health Network undertook an audit to estimate true immunisation coverage of NSW children at one year of age, and explore reasons associated with under-reporting. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey examining AIR immunisation records of a stratified random sample of 491 NSW children aged 12≤15 months at 30 September 2017 who were >30 days overdue for immunisation. Survey data were analysed using population weights. RESULTS: Estimated true coverage of fully vaccinated one-year-old children in NSW is 96.2% (CI:95.9-96.4), 2.1% higher than AIR reported coverage of 94.1%. Of the children reported as overdue on AIR, 34.9% (CI:30.9-38.9) were actually fully vaccinated. No significant association was found between under-reporting and socioeconomic status, rurality or reported local coverage level. Data errors in AIR uploading (at provider level) and duplicate records contributed to incorrect AIR coverage recording. CONCLUSIONS: Despite incentives to record childhood vaccinations on AIR, under-reporting continues to be an important contributor to underestimation of true coverage in NSW. Implications for public health: More reliable transmission of encounters to AIR at provider level and removal of duplicates would improve accuracy of reported coverage. SN - 1753-6405 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/30959563/Children_overdue_for_immunisation:_a_question_of_coverage_or_reporting_An_audit_of_the_Australian_Immunisation_Register_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -