Variation in vaccination data available at school entry across the United States

T.F. Leslie, E.J. Street, P.L. Delamater, Y. Tony Yang and K.H. Jacobsen

American Journal of Public Health, 2016, vol. 106, issue 12, 2180-2182

Abstract: Objectives. To compile substate-level data on US school-age children's vaccination rates. Methods. For states that did not have suitable data online, in 2015 we submitted information requests to the state health department and followed up with the state's Freedom of Information Act when necessary. Results. The accessibility, scale, and types of vaccination data varied considerably. Whereas 26 states provided data online, 14 released data only after a Freedom of Information Act request. School or school-district data were available for 24 states, 19 at the county level, 2 at the health department level, and 6 provided no substate-level data. Conclusions. Effective vaccination policy requires a robust understanding of vaccination behavior. Some states make it difficult to access data or provide low-resolution data of limited value for identifying vaccination behavior.

Keywords: behavior; freedom of information act; human; public health service; United States; vaccination; access to information; child; factual database; government; school; United States, Access to Information; Child; Databases, Factual; Humans; Schools; State Government; United States; Vaccination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2016.303455_3

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303455

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