{"173761":{"#nid":"173761","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Online Tool Creates Catch-Up Immunization Schedules for Missed Childhood Vaccinations","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChildren obtain protection against certain diseases by receiving vaccinations, but they commonly miss recommended times to receive these immunizations. Once a child falls behind, health care professionals typically have to construct a unique, personalized catch-up schedule for each child \u2013 often while the child waits in the treatment room.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA new online tool takes the guesswork out of developing individualized catch-up immunization schedules by allowing parents and health care providers to easily create a schedule that ensures missed vaccines and future vaccines are administered according to approved guidelines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe immunization schedule is complex,\u201d said Larry Pickering, executive secretary of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a collaborator on the project. \u201cBy using the online immunization scheduler, parents can ensure that their children stay current on all recommended vaccines, and they can also obtain useful information about vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe online catch-up immunization scheduling tool, which was developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is available at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.vacscheduler.org\/\u0022 title=\u0022https:\/\/www.vacscheduler.org\/\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.vacscheduler.org\/\u003C\/a\u003E. Since the new tool launched in January 2012, the site has recorded nearly 63,000 visits, 22 percent of them repeat visitors. Nearly half of the visitors identified themselves as health care providers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new online tool replaced a downloadable software program that was released by Georgia Tech and the CDC in 2008. The original software was designed by Professor Pinar Keskinocak and former graduate student Faramroze Engineer from the Georgia Tech Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Researchers in the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) converted the software program into the new online tool and adapted it to show different views tailored for parents and health care professionals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve resolved several issues that existed with the downloadable catch-up immunization scheduling program by creating the online tool,\u201d explained Keskinocak. \u201cFor instance, some physicians told us that they were not able to download the original software program to their work computers because of information technology security restrictions and some users expressed concern because the program had to be downloaded again whenever updates to the vaccination rules were issued.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe online tool removes the challenging task of simultaneously considering complex rules, guidelines and discretionary considerations when creating a catch-up schedule. A physician or caregiver simply inputs a child\u2019s date of birth and previous immunization dates, and selects whether to administer the vaccines as soon as possible or to administer the vaccines when recommended. Then the program displays a personalized schedule of the recommended dates to administer all future vaccines, which can be saved to the user\u2019s computer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI have found the online scheduling tools to be very user friendly and helpful,\u201d said Thomas J. Steiner, the pediatric lead physician with Kaiser Permanente Gwinnett, in Duluth, Ga. \u201cOne of the most useful aspects is the fact that after the patient\u2019s immunizations are entered, you can print a \u2018catch up\u2019 schedule which can be given to the patient and scanned into the patient\u2019s chart.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVaccines included in the scheduler are those required between birth and six years of age: Hepatitis A and B, Rotavirus, Diphtheria\/Tetanus\/Pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Pneumococcal, Polio, Measles\/Mumps\/Rubella, Varicella (Chickenpox).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe scheduler follows the guidelines developed and revised each year by ACIP in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians. These guidelines include the feasible number, timing and spacing of doses of each vaccine based on the child\u2019s age, the number of doses and the age at which each dose was administered.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition, each dose of each vaccine has a minimum, maximum and recommended age for administration, and there are minimum and recommended gaps between doses. These gaps as well as future administrations of a particular vaccine may vary depending on the age of the child and the age at which previous doses were administered.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf a child requires more than one live vaccine to be administered, there are two options: administer all live vaccines on the same day or wait 28 days between live vaccine injections. There also may be discretionary considerations such as limiting the number of simultaneous administrations a child receives or the number of visits required to complete the series for all vaccines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGTRI researchers converted the downloadable program into software that could run online. While doing so, they added the capability to show slightly different information depending on whether the visitor was a health care professional or a parent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can have the same algorithm and recommendation rules, but the interface can vary slightly based on the audience,\u201d said Sheila Isbell, a GTRI research scientist who led the software conversion effort. \u201cIf the visitor is a parent, we can show parent-friendly footnotes instead of physician-specific ones and provide more basic information about the vaccines and the importance of completing the immunization regimes.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of the redesign for online operation, the researchers also separated the information that are likely to be changed and housed it in a database that would be easier to update as recommendations change. Housing the rules in a database could also allow the system to be used in other countries where vaccination schedules differ from those of the United States.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the future, the GTRI team is creating a version that combines child and adolescent schedules to allow it to serve persons up to 18 years of age. A version designed for mobile devices is also under development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Isbell, GTRI researchers Scott Appling, Therese Boston, Josh Cothran, Moon Kim and Arya Irani also contributed to the software conversion project, which was supported by GTRI\u2019s Independent Research and Development program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond advising on vaccination schedules, the tool may also encourage interactions between parents and physicians.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBy using the scheduler, parents will enhance their knowledge of vaccines and the diseases they prevent, and receive assistance in formulating questions that can be discussed with their child\u2019s physicians and nurses, resulting in more productive interactions,\u201d said Pickering, who is also a professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Lance Wallace (404-407-7280)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Abby Robinson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new online tool takes the guesswork out of developing individualized catch-up immunization schedules by allowing parents and health care providers to easily create a schedule that ensures missed vaccines and future vaccines are administered according to approved guidelines.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"An online tool creates personalized vaccination schedules for children who have missed certain immunizations."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2012-11-28 13:48:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:14","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-11-28T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-11-28T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"173731":{"id":"173731","type":"image","title":"Online scheduler vaccination","body":null,"created":"1449179012","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:32","changed":"1475894814","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:54","alt":"Online scheduler vaccination","file":{"fid":"195794","name":"online-scheduler-9362.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/online-scheduler-9362_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/online-scheduler-9362_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1140726,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/online-scheduler-9362_0.jpg?itok=zuGHFpHW"}},"173721":{"id":"173721","type":"image","title":"Online scheduler team","body":null,"created":"1449179012","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:32","changed":"1475894814","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:54","alt":"Online scheduler team","file":{"fid":"195793","name":"online-scheduler417.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/online-scheduler417_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/online-scheduler417_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1408478,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/online-scheduler417_0.jpg?itok=Eog_cvHs"}},"173741":{"id":"173741","type":"image","title":"Online scheduler - Sheila Isbell","body":null,"created":"1449179012","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:32","changed":"1475894814","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:54","alt":"Online scheduler - Sheila Isbell","file":{"fid":"195795","name":"online-scheduler-isbell.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/online-scheduler-isbell_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/online-scheduler-isbell_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1009948,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/online-scheduler-isbell_0.jpg?itok=g6eiv9KC"}},"173751":{"id":"173751","type":"image","title":"Online scheduler form","body":null,"created":"1449179012","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:32","changed":"1475894814","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:54","alt":"Online scheduler form","file":{"fid":"195796","name":"vaccine-scheduler-form.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/vaccine-scheduler-form_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/vaccine-scheduler-form_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":264025,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/vaccine-scheduler-form_0.jpg?itok=naeuOSP3"}}},"media_ids":["173731","173721","173741","173751"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"123","name":"CDC"},{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"764","name":"immunization"},{"id":"167669","name":"schedule"},{"id":"7360","name":"vaccination"},{"id":"763","name":"vaccine"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}