Health Professionals: Your Role in Women's Health

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Immunizations

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• Why Get Immunized?
• Helpful Handouts for Patients
• Additional Resources

Why Get Immunized?

In the last 30 to 40 years, vaccines have banished smallpox, driven polio from the United States, and virtually eliminated many formerly common diseases such as diphtheria and scarlet fever. However, gaps in childhood immunization are allowing diseases such as measles to stage isolated comebacks. Also, some vaccines weren’t available when many people over 35 were young. And those who did receive childhood doses may no longer be immune.

Whether it’s possible exposure to measles or just stepping on a rusty nail and risking tetanus, it’s important to keep immunizations up to date. Talk to your patients about their history and send them home with these immunization fact sheets:

Helpful Handouts for Patients

1. Vaccine Information Statements - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides health professionals with vaccine information sheets to give to patients.

2. This womenshealth.gov resource lists age-appropriate recommended screenings and immunizations.

Additional Resources

Publications

1. Health Professionals: Answers about Vaccine Research - To help with HIV vaccine research, health professionals need the most accurate and current information concerning HIV and clinical trials. This fact sheet provides information that health professionals can use to answer the questions of patients considering clinical trial participation. (PDF file, 77 Kb)

2. Immunization Strategies for Healthcare Practices and Providers - It’s not only up to parents to ensure that children receive immunizations on time. Health care professionals also play a role in the schedule of childhood immunizations. Because surges of disease can enter our population from lack of immunizations, this publication stresses the importance of health professionals administering immunizations. (PDF file, 398 Kb)

3. Immunization Practice Toolkit - This toolkit is for health care professionals who administer vaccines. Some topics included in the tool kit are vaccine safety, screening, and patient education.

4. Influenza Vaccination: A Summary for Clinicians - Because there are two types of influenza vaccinations, this site provides a summary of key areas which health professionals should consider when administering the influenza vaccine.

5. Prevention and Control of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in Long-Term Care Facilities - Vaccines for the elderly are just as important as those for children. This manual outlines how to develop, implement, and maintain a vaccine program in a long term care facility. (PDF file, 471 Kb)

6. Vaccine Shortage and Handling Tool Kit - The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases provides a tool kit for health professionals that contains valuable information on how to properly store and handle vaccines until they are administered to a patient.

Organizations

1. National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
2. National Vaccine Program Office
3. Immunization Action Coalition
4. National Network for Immunization Information

= Federal government resource

Content last updated December 1, 2008.