Project Overview

The Vaccine Policy Collaborative Initiative (VPCI) is a project that conducts surveys of health care professionals and public health officials about important issues relevant to national immunization policy. The Initiative uses a rapid turnaround survey method with a pre-recruited Sentinel Site Network. The VPCI is directed by Dr. Allison Kempe of the Children's Outcomes Research Program at the University of Colorado Denver, and works in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Several surveys are conducted each year by a multidisciplinary team with experience and expertise in rapidly designing, conducting and analyzing surveys.

Currently, three Sentinel Site Networks are up and running in pediatrics, family medicine and general internal medicine. Physicians were randomly recruited from around the country using the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and American College of Physicians (ACP) membership files. These networks are designed to represent four geographic regions (Northeast, Midwest, South and West), three practice settings (urban inner city, suburban and rural) and three practice types (private, public or hospital-based clinic, and HMO). Each network includes approximately 425 physicians. During the development of the networks, the study team administered surveys to random samples of physicians in each primary care group recruited from the American Medical Association (AMA) to establish comparability to the sentinel site physician networks.

Three advisory committees from each primary care setting guide the study team with each survey. The function of the advisory committees is to advise the investigators with regard to policy-relevant issues from the committees' perspective. The advisory committees also discuss optimal ways to access providers, and are used to pilot survey questions and methods. The committees have representation from geographically different states around the country including: California, Colorado, Texas, New York, Florida and an additional southern state.

To date, the following surveys have been completed:

- Influenza 2004-2005 Shortage - March 2005
- Adoption and Attitudes of New HPV Vaccine - September 2005
- Knowledge, Opinions and Practice of Physicians Regarding Pneumovax 23 - August 2005
- Short Survey on Ordering, Obtaining and Administering Influenza Vaccine in 2005 - November 2005
- Survey of Primary Care Physicians Regarding Herpes Zoster and Herpes Zoster Vaccine - November 2005
- Knowledge and Attitudes About Rotavirus Infection and the New Rotavirus Vaccine Under Development - January 2006
- Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Hepatitis B Vaccination in Adults - August 2006
- Influenza 2006-2007 Season - March 2007
- Attitudes and Knowledge about the Recently Licensed Rotavirus Vaccine - August 2007
- Attitudes and Current Practices of Physicians Regarding HPV Vaccination - January 2008
- Short Survey on Hib Shortage - April 2008
- Survey on Herpes Zoster Vaccine (Zostavax) - July 2008
- Survey on Adverse Events Following Immunizations - October 2008

Study Team:
Allison Kempe, MD, MPH, Principal Investigator
Stephen Berman, MD, Co-Investigator
Lori Crane, PhD, MPH, Survey Design Specialist
Matthew F. Daley, MD, Co-Investigator
Arthur J. Davidson, MD, MSPH, Public Health Liason, Denver Public Health Dept.
L. Miriam Dickinson, PhD, Biostatistician
Laura Hurley, MD, Co-Investigator
Al Marcus, PhD, Director of Survey Methods Core, AMC Survey Research Core
John F. Steiner, MD, Internal Medicine Liason
Christina Suh, MD, Co-Investigator
Christine Babbel, MSPH, Project Coordinator
Jennifer Barrow, MSPH, Project Manager
Brenda L. Beaty, MSPH, Data Analyst

Funding: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Funding Cycle: October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2010