Outcomes, Approaches, and Challenges to Developing and Passing a Countywide Mandatory Vaccination Policy: St. Louis County’s Experience with Hepatitis A Vaccine for Food Service Personnel
In the early 1990s, St. Louis County had multiple foodservice worker-related hepatitis A outbreaks uncontrolled by standard outbreak interventions. Restaurant interest groups and the general public applied political pressure to local public health officials for more stringent interventions, includin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AIMS Press
2016-03-01
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| Series: | AIMS Public Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.aimspress.com/aimsph/article/685/fulltext.html |
| _version_ | 1818430522832977920 |
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| author | Kristin D. Wilson Travis Loux Olivia Peavler Ayesha Z. Iqbal Terri Rebmann Eleanor B. Peters |
| author_facet | Kristin D. Wilson Travis Loux Olivia Peavler Ayesha Z. Iqbal Terri Rebmann Eleanor B. Peters |
| author_sort | Kristin D. Wilson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the early 1990s, St. Louis County had multiple foodservice worker-related hepatitis A outbreaks uncontrolled by standard outbreak interventions. Restaurant interest groups and the general public applied political pressure to local public health officials for more stringent interventions, including a mandatory vaccination policy. Local health departments can enact mandatory vaccination policies, but this has rarely been done. The study objectives were to describe the approach used to pass a mandatory vaccination policy at the local jurisdiction level and illustrate the outcome from this ordinance 15 years later. A case study design was used. In-depth, semi-structured interviews using guided questions were conducted in spring, 2015, with six key informants who had direct knowledge of the mandatory vaccination policy process. Meeting minutes and/or reports were also analyzed. A Poisson distribution analysis was used to calculate the rate of outbreaks before and after mandatory vaccination policy implementation. The policy appears to have reduced the number of hepatitis A outbreaks, lowering the morbidity and economic burden in St. Louis County. The lessons learned by local public health officials in passing a mandatory hepatitis A vaccination policy are important and relevant in today’s environment. The experience and lessons learned may assist other local health departments when faced with the potential need for mandatory policies for any vaccine preventable disease. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T15:34:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-94574e233e0449d9b3996f7d69382328 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2327-8994 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T15:34:45Z |
| publishDate | 2016-03-01 |
| publisher | AIMS Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AIMS Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-94574e233e0449d9b3996f7d693823282022-12-21T22:55:45ZengAIMS PressAIMS Public Health2327-89942016-03-013111613010.3934/publichealth.2016.1.116publichealth-03-00116Outcomes, Approaches, and Challenges to Developing and Passing a Countywide Mandatory Vaccination Policy: St. Louis County’s Experience with Hepatitis A Vaccine for Food Service PersonnelKristin D. Wilson0Travis Loux1Olivia Peavler2Ayesha Z. Iqbal3Terri Rebmann4Eleanor B. Peters5Department of Health Management and Policy, Saint Louis University, College for Public Health & Social Justice, USADepartment of Biostatistics, Saint Louis University, College for Public Health & Social Justice, USADepartment of Health Management and Policy, Saint Louis University, College for Public Health & Social Justice, USACenter for Clinical Excellence, BJC HealthCare, St. Louis, MOInstitute for Biosecurity, Saint Louis University, College for Public Health & Social Justice, St. Louis, MO, USASt. Louis County Department of Public Health, St. Louis, MO, USIn the early 1990s, St. Louis County had multiple foodservice worker-related hepatitis A outbreaks uncontrolled by standard outbreak interventions. Restaurant interest groups and the general public applied political pressure to local public health officials for more stringent interventions, including a mandatory vaccination policy. Local health departments can enact mandatory vaccination policies, but this has rarely been done. The study objectives were to describe the approach used to pass a mandatory vaccination policy at the local jurisdiction level and illustrate the outcome from this ordinance 15 years later. A case study design was used. In-depth, semi-structured interviews using guided questions were conducted in spring, 2015, with six key informants who had direct knowledge of the mandatory vaccination policy process. Meeting minutes and/or reports were also analyzed. A Poisson distribution analysis was used to calculate the rate of outbreaks before and after mandatory vaccination policy implementation. The policy appears to have reduced the number of hepatitis A outbreaks, lowering the morbidity and economic burden in St. Louis County. The lessons learned by local public health officials in passing a mandatory hepatitis A vaccination policy are important and relevant in today’s environment. The experience and lessons learned may assist other local health departments when faced with the potential need for mandatory policies for any vaccine preventable disease.http://www.aimspress.com/aimsph/article/685/fulltext.htmlPublic Health PolicyMandatory VaccinationImmunizationOutbreak control |
| spellingShingle | Kristin D. Wilson Travis Loux Olivia Peavler Ayesha Z. Iqbal Terri Rebmann Eleanor B. Peters Outcomes, Approaches, and Challenges to Developing and Passing a Countywide Mandatory Vaccination Policy: St. Louis County’s Experience with Hepatitis A Vaccine for Food Service Personnel AIMS Public Health Public Health Policy Mandatory Vaccination Immunization Outbreak control |
| title | Outcomes, Approaches, and Challenges to Developing and Passing a Countywide Mandatory Vaccination Policy: St. Louis County’s Experience with Hepatitis A Vaccine for Food Service Personnel |
| title_full | Outcomes, Approaches, and Challenges to Developing and Passing a Countywide Mandatory Vaccination Policy: St. Louis County’s Experience with Hepatitis A Vaccine for Food Service Personnel |
| title_fullStr | Outcomes, Approaches, and Challenges to Developing and Passing a Countywide Mandatory Vaccination Policy: St. Louis County’s Experience with Hepatitis A Vaccine for Food Service Personnel |
| title_full_unstemmed | Outcomes, Approaches, and Challenges to Developing and Passing a Countywide Mandatory Vaccination Policy: St. Louis County’s Experience with Hepatitis A Vaccine for Food Service Personnel |
| title_short | Outcomes, Approaches, and Challenges to Developing and Passing a Countywide Mandatory Vaccination Policy: St. Louis County’s Experience with Hepatitis A Vaccine for Food Service Personnel |
| title_sort | outcomes approaches and challenges to developing and passing a countywide mandatory vaccination policy st louis county s experience with hepatitis a vaccine for food service personnel |
| topic | Public Health Policy Mandatory Vaccination Immunization Outbreak control |
| url | http://www.aimspress.com/aimsph/article/685/fulltext.html |
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