Journal article
Immunisation coverage in Australia corrected for under-reporting to the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the level of under-reporting to the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) and the resulting underestimation of national immunisation coverage using ACIR data- and to correct national immunisation estimates for under-reporting. METHODS: A national population-based telephone survey was conducted in May-July 2001 of two random samples of children born in 1998 and 1999 who were recorded on the ACIR as incompletely immunised at either 12 months or 24 months of age. Parents were asked whether and when their child had received the vaccinations required to qualify as fully immunised. Survey data were then used to correct ACIR-derived coverage estimates at 12 and 24 months of age. RESULTS: Of 640 surveyed children in the 12-month group- 258 (40%) met the study definition of 'definitely immunised'. This adjusted the ACIR coverage estimate upwards by 2.7% to 94% (95% CI 93.6-94.1). Of 698 surveyed children in the 24-month group- 387 (55%) met the study definition of 'definitely immunised
Publication year
2003
Journal
Australian and New Zealand journal of public health
Volume
5
Type
Journal article
Countries
- Australia
