If You Give Sick Kids Their Shots, Will They Return for Well-Child Visits?

Vaccination rates can be improved if children receive vaccines at opportunities outside of routine well-child care, such as at sick visits. Investigators retrospectively examined the effect of immunization at sick visits on subsequent attendance at well-child visits among all 1675 children (85% black, 75% without private insurance) who were born in 2003–2004 and were seen at four urban clinics in Philadelphia.

In analyses of a wide range of demographic and health-related factors, vaccination at a sick visit (total outpatient sick visits, 4845) had the greatest effect on return for upcoming well-child care: Children who received vaccines were 45% less likely to return for a well-child visit within 60 days than children who were not vaccinated…