Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of patients' recall of their last Tetanus/Diphtheria (Td) booster in the setting of employee health clinics known for high immunization rates and good documentation of vaccine status. Methods: Five hundred and seventy-two patients of an employee health clinic answered a written questionnaire about whether they have had a Td booster in the last 10 years. Answers were compared with patients' charts as the gold standard. Results: The sensitivity of the question is 92.4% (95% CI 89.0-95.0) and specificity is 26.5% (95% CI 12.9-44.4). Positive predictive value is 92.6% (95% CI 89.3-95.2) and negative predictive value is 25.7% (95% CI 12.5-43.3). Age and gender do not affect the accuracy of recall. Conclusion: A positive answer to this question is highly reliable whereas a negative answer is unreliable. Practice implications: In the setting of employee health clinics, when patients affirm the receipt of a Td booster within the previous 10 years, it is quite likely that they are up to date and do not require re-administration of the vaccine. Any other answer to this question (No, I do not know) is unreliable and a booster should be recommended if not contraindicated.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 403-406 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Patient Education and Counseling |
Volume | 70 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2008 |
Keywords
- Immunization
- Patient recall
- Sensitivity
- Specificity
- Tetanus vaccine
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine