Underimmunization of American Indian and Alaska Native children

作者：Groom Amy V^*; Washington Michael L; Smith Philip J; Bryan Ralph T

来源：Pediatrics, 2008, 121(5): 938-944.

DOI：10.1542/peds.2007-1794

• American Indian
• Alaska Native
• immunization assessment
• health disparities

OBJECTIVE. The goal was to determine whether disparities in childhood immunization coverage exist between American Indian/ Alaska Native children and non-Hispanic white children.
METHODS. We compared immunization coverage with the 4 diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, 3 poliovirus, 1 measles-mumps-rubella, 3 Haemophilus influenza type b, and 3 hepatitis B( 4: 3: 1: 3: 3) series and its individual vaccine components (>= 4 doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine; >= 3 doses of oral or inactivated polio vaccine; >= 1 dose of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine; >= 3 doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine; and >= 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine) between American Indian/ Alaska Native children and non-Hispanic white children from 2000 to 2005, using data from the National Immunization Survey.
RESULTS. Although immunization coverage increased for both populations from 2001 to 2004, American Indian/ Alaska Native children had significantly lower immunization coverage, compared with non-Hispanic white children, over that time period. In 2005, coverage continued to increase for American Indian/ Alaska Native children but decreased for non-Hispanic white children, and no statistically significant disparity in 4: 3: 1: 3: 3 coverage was evident in that year.
CONCLUSIONS. Disparities in immunization coverage for American Indian/ Alaska Native children have been present, but unrecognized, since 2001. The absence of a disparity in coverage in 2005 is encouraging but is tempered by the fact that coverage for non-Hispanic white children decreased in that year.

• 出版日期2008-5