Studies

The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law and the Adolescent Medicine Program at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, with support from the CDC, are conducting a nationwide research study to understand factors that influence adolescent immunization.

Overview
The Adolescent Medicine Program at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the Center for Adolescent Health & the Law, with support from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, are conducting a nationwide research study to understand factors that influence adolescent immunization rates. Carol Ford, MD and Abigail English, JD are the Principal Investigators for this project.

Specifically, we are investigating how issues related to consent affect the extent to which adolescents receive recommended vaccinations, and how these effects vary by age, vaccine type, and clinical setting. The goal of this project is to understand the issues related to consent for adolescent vaccination and, ultimately, to improve the overall health of adolescents by increasing immunization rates for this age group.

Participation will involve a brief telephone interview that will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Interviews will take begin in mid-January 2009.

Upon completion of our study, findings will be published and available to all practitioners who care for adolescents. A copy of that report will be available at the Center for Adolescent Health & the Law website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is this study being conducted?
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recently published adolescent immunization recommendations for meningococcal, pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), and influenza¹. Identifying opportunities and venues to vaccinate adolescents remains challenging. We are conducting a nationwide research study to understand the factors that influence adolescent immunization rates.

Who is conducting this study?
Carol A. Ford, MD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Abigail English, JD at the Center for Adolescent Health & the Law are conducting this project with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Who is being asked to participate?
We are inviting a select group of key stakeholders in all 50 states to participate in this study. Participants will include primary care clinicians in private and publicly-funded clinics, Immunization Program Managers, STD Program Managers, Health Department Legal Counsel, Title X Family Planning Program Representatives, and State Pharmacy Association representatives.

What does the study involve?
Participation in the study will involve one confidential telephone interview scheduled at a time that is convenient to the participant. The interviews will occur during the first three months of 2009 and last 20-30 minutes.

What is the content of the interview?
We will collect information to describe the current knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding consent for adolescent immunizations in a variety of health delivery systems and settings.

Will participants receive compensation?
Participants will not receive compensation.

What will happen with the results of the study?
Upon completion of the study, findings will be published. Participants will have an opportunity to request a copy of study results at the end of their interview. A link to a copy of the findings will be available on the Center for Adolescent Health & the Law’s website.

Will this study be approved by an IRB?
Yes, the study will be approved by the University of North Carolina Institutional Review Board.
The IRB can be contacted at:
Medical School Building 52
105 Mason Farm Rd. CB# 7097
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7097
telephone: 919.966.3113

Who should I contact with questions?
Dr. Carol A. Ford (PI)
University of North Carolina, CB 7225
Chapel Hill NC 27599-7225
telephone: 919.966.2504
e-mail: caf@med.unc.edu

Who should I contact to be part of the study?
Kristi Foster, MPH
Center for Adolescent Health & the Law
telephone: 919.968.8850 ext.26
e-mail: foster@cahl.org

¹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recommended immunization schedule for persons aged 7-18 years – United States-2008.

The Center for Adolescent Health & the Law has produced: Policy Compendium on Confidential Health Services for Adolescents, Second Edition, 2005, edited by Madlyn C. Morreale, Amy J. Stinnett, and Emily C. Dowling and published by the Center for Adolescent Health & the Law in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The Compendium contains excerpts from the official policies of 20 professional medical and health care organizations whose members are involved in the care of adolescents. The Compendium includes material drawn from organizational position statements; resolutions; position or policy papers; comments submitted in response to proposed regulations; testimony or letters submitted to Congress or the Administration; codes or principles of ethics; and other formal organizational practice guidelines. The material drawn from these formal policy documents is organized and analyzed according to such themes as the rationale for supporting confidential health care for the general population and for adolescents in particular; policies and procedures to protect confidentiality; the role of parents and guardians in adolescent health care; the importance of informing adolescents and parents about confidentiality protections and limits to those protections; policies about informed consent and confidentiality for specific services; confidentiality concerns for particular populations of adolescents; and statements about confidentiality in particular health care settings. The Compendium includes both verbatim quotes from the policy documents themselves and extensive tables analyzing the material. This second edition of Policy Compendium on Confidential Health Services for Adolescents, resulted from a collaboration between the Center for Adolescent Health & the Law, the American Medical Association (AMA), and members of the AMA National Coalition on Adolescent Health and the AMA Educational Forum on Adolescent Health.

Electronic copies (pdf format) of the Compendium are available free of charge.

Table of Contents

Preface & Introduction (pdf)
Key Findings & Tables (pdf)
General Statements about the Importance of Confidentiality (pdf)
General Policy Statements that Address Adolescents’ Access to Confidential Health Care, Including the Roles of Parents and Guardians in Adolescent Health Care and Procedures to Safeguard Adolescents’ Confidentiality (pdf)
Policy Statements about Confidentiality Concerns for Particular Populations of Adolescents (pdf)

Adolescents who have run away, are homeless, or are living on the street Adolescents in state custody Adolescents who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender Pregnant and parenting adolescents

Policy Statements about Adolescents’ Informed Consent and Confidential Access to Specific Health Care Services (pdf)

Preventive health services Dental Services Contraception, pregnancy-related services, abortion, and other reproductive health services Testing and treatment for HIV and sexually transmitted infections Mental health and substance abuse services

Policy Statements about Confidentiality in Particular Health Care Settings (pdf)

Schools and school health centers College health services Emergency departments Managed care settings

References (pdf)

Appendices

Appendix A: Contact Information for Organizations Represented in this Compendium (pdf)
Appendix B: Index by Organization (pdf)
Appendix C: Significance of the HIPAA Privacy Rule for Health Care of Adolescents (pdf)

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Center for Adolescent Health & the Law

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State Minor Consent Laws: A Summary, 3rd Edition

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