Estimating Vaccination Coverage in Children Using Health Insurance Data
Author Information
Author(s): Kalies Helen, Redel Rebekka, Varga Rudolf, Tauscher Martin, Kries Rüdiger
Primary Institution: Institute for Social Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Munich, Germany
Hypothesis
Can routine data from statutory health insurances be used to monitor vaccination coverage in young children?
Conclusion
Health insurance billing data can effectively estimate immunization coverage in children with some adjustments.
Supporting Evidence
- The original dataset included 196,732 children, but the reduced dataset used for analysis had 111,977 children.
- Vaccination coverage estimates for the reduced dataset were up to 1.7% higher than those for continuously insured children.
- The study found that 95.1% of children in the validation dataset had visited a physician in the first six months and the second year of life.
Takeaway
This study shows that we can use health insurance data to find out how many kids are getting their vaccines, which helps us understand vaccination rates better.
Methodology
The study analyzed billing data from statutory health insurances for children born in Bavaria between 2001 and 2002 to estimate vaccination coverage.
Potential Biases
Potential bias exists due to children changing health insurance or moving out of Bavaria, which may affect the denominator used for estimates.
Limitations
The study may overestimate vaccination coverage due to children who never consulted a physician not being included in the data.
Participant Demographics
Children born in Bavaria between October 1, 2001, and December 31, 2002.
Statistical Information
Confidence Interval
95% CI
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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