Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 1998 Aug;79(2):136-40.
doi: 10.1136/adc.79.2.136.

Randomised controlled trial of the use of a modified postal reminder card on the uptake of measles vaccination

Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Randomised controlled trial of the use of a modified postal reminder card on the uptake of measles vaccination

P Hawe et al. Arch Dis Child. 1998 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether rewording postal reminder cards according to the "health belief model", a theory about preventive health behaviour, would help to improve measles vaccination rates.

Design: A randomised controlled trial, with blind assessment of outcome status. Parents of children due for their first measles vaccination were randomised to one of two groups, one receiving the health belief model reminder card, the other receiving the usual, neutrally worded card. The proportion of children subsequently vaccinated in each group over a five week period was ascertained from clinical (provider based) records.

Setting: A local government operated public vaccination clinic.

Participants: Parents of 259 children due for measles vaccination.

Main results: The proportion of children vaccinated in the health belief model card group was 79% compared with 67% of those sent the usual card (95% CI, 2% to 23%), a modest but important improvement.

Conclusion: This study illustrates how the effectiveness of a minimal and widely practised intervention to promote vaccination compliance can be improved with negligible additional effort.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. JAMA. 1970 May 4;212(5):770-3 - PubMed
    1. Community Med. 1979 Feb;1(1):29-35 - PubMed
    1. Med Care. 1982 Jun;20(6):639-48 - PubMed
    1. Am J Public Health. 1983 Nov;73(11):1298-301 - PubMed
    1. N Z Med J. 1984 Oct 10;97(765):688-9 - PubMed

Publication types

Substances