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MA/PhD Theses Abstracts of Current Students & Alumni |
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Hahm, Bridget (MA). Case study of improving data quality: Florida and school immunization data collection (Romero-Daza). 2003.
The main goal of this thesis is to describe the processes through which the immunization status data of children entering Kindergarten and First Grades in the State of Florida are collected, compiled and disseminated from the local to the national level. A secondary objective is to identify factors that may affect, positively or negatively, attempts to standardize the collection of these data from the national level. This case study results from an epidemiological internship with the National Immunization Program (NIP) at the CDC that I conducted during the summer of 2001. Lack of time and flexibility in the internship project led to the development of a complementary qualitative case study to investigate questions raised during the internship. The case study approach allowed the integration of my work and experiences during the internship with the collection and analysis of qualitative data. These qualitative data were obtained through participant observation, document review and in¬ depth, semi-structured key informant interviews. People at each point of the data collection process from the school level to the state level were identified and interviewed for this study.
Currently, the State of Florida conducts an annual immunization status survey that acts as a census of the immunization status of all children entering Kindergarten and a sample survey that validates the results of the status survey. The status survey measures compliance with the state's school immunization law and exemptions claimed. The validation survey measures compliance as well as schoolchildren's immunization coverage according to the CDC's recommended vaccination schedule. Both surveys have training and annual updates for persons collecting the data and safeguards to ensure the data quality of the results. Research participants' location in the school survey processes did appear to affect how important they rated the data and how they used it. Finally, the structure of the validation survey would be compatible with the implementation of the standardized methodology that I worked on during my internship at the NIP.
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