Research
Seed Grant Profile
77
2008-2009 Program
Catch-up Scheduling for Immunization
We developed an initial version of a decision support tool for constructing catch-up schedules for childhood immunization. The tool takes as input the child’s age, immunization history up to date, and creates a catch-up schedule which ensures that all the remaining doses are administered and the rules and guidelines regarding the doses are not violated. The current version of the tool has been disseminated through the CDC website www.cdc.gov/vaccines/scheduler/catchup.htm. We propose to continue this research in several directions. (i) Extend the capabilities of the tool to incorporate combination vaccines which are increasingly being used for immunization. (ii) Extend the tool to consider the current vaccine inventory in the clinic. (iii) Modify the tool to make it applicable in at least one other country outside the United States. (iv) Develop a similar tool for adolescent and adult vaccination schedules and for people with underlying conditions such as diabetes mellitus, renal failure, immunodeficiencies, and HIV, all of whom have specific immunization requirement needs.
Investigators: Pinar Keskinocak (GT, Industrial and Systems Engineering), Larry Pickering (Children's Healthcare of Atlanta)