The purpose of this study is to assess, prospectively, the effect of email reminders for well-child check (WCC) visits on adherence to these visits among those who have not yet scheduled the visit. The investigators hypothesize that sending reminders will increase scheduling WCC visits, attending WCC visits, and being up to date for the child's required immunizations beyond what occurs in the absence of these reminders.
Regular attendance at recommended WCC visits is associated with having up-to-date immunizations. Standard care involves scheduling a follow-up WCC visit at the end of the current visit. However, if the child's parents do not choose to schedule a follow-up visit at that time or miss a WCC visit, they may not be offered another easy opportunity to schedule one. That is, they would have to remember to schedule a visit and contact the clinic proactively. In this study, 30 days before a child is due for their WCC visit, parents who have not yet scheduled a WCC visit for up to 30 days (for 5-month-olds) or 60 days (for all other ages) after their child is due for a visit will be randomly assigned to two groups with a random number generator. One group will receive an email reminder, while the other group will not receive any reminder. The randomization of participants to different conditions will be in place until 800 participants have been identified and randomly assigned to one of the arms (estimated sample to detect at least a 10% absolute difference) or 180 days, whichever comes first. To account for delays in updating clinical databases, the final outcome data will be checked 90 days after the last eligible visit (for a maximum study period of 270 days).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
1,186
Geisinger
Danville, Pennsylvania, United States
WCC visit scheduled
Binary variable of scheduling a WCC visit as established by visit type, visit reasons, and billing codes (if available)
Time frame: 30-60 days from the email send date
WCC visit made
Binary variable of going to a WCC visit as established by billing codes
Time frame: 30-60 days from the email send date
Immunization status
Binary variable indicating whether pediatric vaccinations are up to date, defined as having no current immunization care gaps
Time frame: 60 days from the email send date
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.