Known as the Adult Immunisation Project, the programme will see the researchers working to develop evidence-based interventions to support indicated adult vaccination practices among providers in the Duke Health system.
The Pfizer-funded project will be piloted throughout Duke Primary Care practices, by engaging frontline clinic staff on improving patient awareness and delivery of indicated and customary immunisation care for current adult patients.
Data from primary care practices before, during, and after the deployment of educational interventions will be analysed to determine approaches that were successful in helping patients understand the benefits and risks associated with various vaccinations.
Using Premier’s CECity quality analytics platform, the patient data will be stored, streamlined, and analysed.
The platform is a clinical data warehouse that allows healthcare providers to access patient information in a single, consolidated view.
It also allows providers to manage outlier reports, identify high-risk patients, and connect patients to appropriately targeted interventions.
DCRI Education faculty director Tracy Wang said: “We all believe that adult immunisation rates could be improved.
“Less than half of all eligible adults in the US get an annual flu vaccination, which is one of the more common vaccines.
"The rates of vaccinations for other diseases, such as shingles and pneumonia, are even lower.”
Nearly 50,000 American adults die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases or their complications.
