Do Children and Young People Attending the Paediatric Emergency Department Have Lower Levels of Vaccination Coverage Than Their Peers in the Local General Population?

In the United Kingdom (UK), most childhood vaccinations are given in the community, although uptake has decreased in recent years. A Paediatric Emergency Department (PED) attendance offers an opportunity to check the vaccination status of children and young people (CYP) and all parents/carers should be asked about this routinely. Those not up-to-date with vaccinations could then be signposted to existing services or perhaps offered a vaccine in the PED.

CYP attending the PED may also have lower vaccination coverage than their peers, so may benefit even more from interventions to increase uptake. However, recall by parents/carers is not always sufficiently accurate to identify those who have not yet received all their age-appropriate vaccinations. The most complete record of an individual's vaccination history is held within their primary care records. However, these records are often in a separate computer system that is inaccessible from the hospital's main computer system, although some information (including vaccination) may be accessed from within the hospital via a third system.

This study aims to see if CYP attending the PED are under-vaccinated compared to their peers and assess the accuracy of parent/carer recall. The results of this study will then be used to inform recommendations for developing better ways to access accurate vaccination data during a PED consultation. If such a system existed, under-vaccinated children could be identified routinely during an attendance, and an intervention offered if appropriate. This would be particularly useful if there was an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease such measles.

All CYP (< 16 years old) attending a PED in a district general hospital in Manchester will be invited to participate. CYP/their parent/carer will be asked to provide consent for their vaccination records to be accessed as well as being asked if the child/young person is up-to-date with all their vaccinations. Approximately 1000 participants will be enrolled.