Are we speaking the same language? an argument for the consistent use of terminology and definitions for childhood vaccination indicators
Vaccination indicators are used to measure the health status of individuals or populations and to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccination programs or policies. Ensuring that vaccination indicators are clearly and consistently defined is important for effective communication of outcomes, accurate p...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2019-03-01
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| Series: | Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2018.1546526 |
| _version_ | 1797677429065515008 |
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| author | Shannon E. MacDonald Margaret L. Russell Xianfang C. Liu Kimberley A. Simmonds Diane L. Lorenzetti Heather Sharpe Jill Svenson Lawrence W. Svenson |
| author_facet | Shannon E. MacDonald Margaret L. Russell Xianfang C. Liu Kimberley A. Simmonds Diane L. Lorenzetti Heather Sharpe Jill Svenson Lawrence W. Svenson |
| author_sort | Shannon E. MacDonald |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Vaccination indicators are used to measure the health status of individuals or populations and to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccination programs or policies. Ensuring that vaccination indicators are clearly and consistently defined is important for effective communication of outcomes, accurate program evaluation, and comparison between different populations, times, and contexts. The purpose of this commentary is to describe commonly used vaccination indicators and to highlight inconsistencies in how childhood vaccine researchers use and define these terms. The indicators we describe are vaccine coverage, uptake, and rate; vaccination status, initiation, and completion; and up-to-date, timely, partial, and incomplete vaccination. We conclude that many vaccination indicators are not explicitly defined within published research studies and/or are used quite differently across studies. We also note that the choice of indicator in a given study is often driven by program or vaccine specific factors, may be constrained by data availability, and should be chosen to best reflect the outcome of interest. We conclude that the use of consistent language and definitions would promote more effective communication of research findings. We also propose some standardized definitions for common indicators, with the goal of provoking discussion and debate on the issue. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:45:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a78664813d694986baee1a3dda8f139e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2164-5515 2164-554X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:45:06Z |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics |
| spelling | doaj.art-a78664813d694986baee1a3dda8f139e2023-09-22T08:38:24ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHuman Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics2164-55152164-554X2019-03-0115374074710.1080/21645515.2018.15465261546526Are we speaking the same language? an argument for the consistent use of terminology and definitions for childhood vaccination indicatorsShannon E. MacDonald0Margaret L. Russell1Xianfang C. Liu2Kimberley A. Simmonds3Diane L. Lorenzetti4Heather Sharpe5Jill Svenson6Lawrence W. Svenson7University of AlbertaCumming School of Medicine, University of CalgaryCumming School of Medicine, University of CalgaryUniversity of AlbertaCumming School of Medicine, University of CalgaryRespiratory Strategic Clinical Network, Alberta Health ServicesAlberta Ministry of HealthUniversity of AlbertaVaccination indicators are used to measure the health status of individuals or populations and to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccination programs or policies. Ensuring that vaccination indicators are clearly and consistently defined is important for effective communication of outcomes, accurate program evaluation, and comparison between different populations, times, and contexts. The purpose of this commentary is to describe commonly used vaccination indicators and to highlight inconsistencies in how childhood vaccine researchers use and define these terms. The indicators we describe are vaccine coverage, uptake, and rate; vaccination status, initiation, and completion; and up-to-date, timely, partial, and incomplete vaccination. We conclude that many vaccination indicators are not explicitly defined within published research studies and/or are used quite differently across studies. We also note that the choice of indicator in a given study is often driven by program or vaccine specific factors, may be constrained by data availability, and should be chosen to best reflect the outcome of interest. We conclude that the use of consistent language and definitions would promote more effective communication of research findings. We also propose some standardized definitions for common indicators, with the goal of provoking discussion and debate on the issue.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2018.1546526vaccinationimmunizationindicatormeasurement |
| spellingShingle | Shannon E. MacDonald Margaret L. Russell Xianfang C. Liu Kimberley A. Simmonds Diane L. Lorenzetti Heather Sharpe Jill Svenson Lawrence W. Svenson Are we speaking the same language? an argument for the consistent use of terminology and definitions for childhood vaccination indicators Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics vaccination immunization indicator measurement |
| title | Are we speaking the same language? an argument for the consistent use of terminology and definitions for childhood vaccination indicators |
| title_full | Are we speaking the same language? an argument for the consistent use of terminology and definitions for childhood vaccination indicators |
| title_fullStr | Are we speaking the same language? an argument for the consistent use of terminology and definitions for childhood vaccination indicators |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are we speaking the same language? an argument for the consistent use of terminology and definitions for childhood vaccination indicators |
| title_short | Are we speaking the same language? an argument for the consistent use of terminology and definitions for childhood vaccination indicators |
| title_sort | are we speaking the same language an argument for the consistent use of terminology and definitions for childhood vaccination indicators |
| topic | vaccination immunization indicator measurement |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2018.1546526 |
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