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The 1989–1991 measles epidemic in New York City drew attention to the low immunization
coverage rates found in urban neighborhoods. This article describes a joint initiative
of the New York State Department of Health and the Columbia University School of Public
Health to mobilize parents to fully immunize their children. Eleven community-based
organizations (CBOs) used a variety of outreach strategies to identify and enroll
underimmunized children in primary care. They enrolled 4,555 children, of whom 75%
needed at least one basic vaccine dose to be up-to-date for their age. Enrolled children
were followed by CBOs to ensure compliance with appointments. After nine months of
program operation, 73% of children in an evaluation sample were up-to-date for age
for their immunizations. Immunization coverage increases were greatest for the youngest
children, for whom coverage rates more than doubled in the first nine months of program
operation. Ninety-one percent of these “hard to reach” children were tracked successfully
by CBOs. This article compares the strategies used by the community organizations
and concludes with suggestions for improvements of future community-based mobilization
programs.
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© 1995 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
