Immunization recall: Effectiveness and barriers to success in an urban teaching clinic

Objective: To examine effectiveness of immunization recall in an urban pediatric teaching clinic and to identify barriers to recall effectiveness. Design: Randomized- controlled trial. Children aged 5 to 17 months who were not up to date (UTD) with recommended immunizations were identified and assigned to intervention (n = 294) or control groups (n = 309). The intervention consisted of a mailed postcard and up to 4 telephone calls. Two months after intervention- UTD status- visit- and probable missed opportunity rates were assessed. Results: Of the intervention group- 30% could not be reached. In 12-month-old children in the intervention group compared with those in the control group- there was a trend toward higher UTD rates (51% vs 39%- P = .07) and a higher proportion of UTD children receiving immunizations as opposed to getting more complete documentation (25% vs 10%- P = .005). Similar differences between intervention and control children were not seen in the 7-month and 19-month age categories. More chi