Sparklinglight Transactions on Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing
Abstract
Background: College students in Illinois must comply with laws regarding proof of immunity for specific vaccines. These laws, however, do not guarantee compliance with immunizations. Unvaccinated persons living in highly-vaccinated communities, such as college campuses, are at risk for many preventable diseases. Objective: The primary aim of this project is to collaborate with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) Health Service to develop, implement, and evaluate the effects of multi-tiered interventions to increase immunization compliance rates of first-semester college students. Methods: A brief YouTube video was presented to freshmen students, an eye-catching educational flyer was distributed by advisors and throughout campus, and an ad was played on the closed-circuit televisions across campus as well as placed in residence hall newsletters. A post-intervention student survey was developed by the student team and administered by Academic Advising. The number of compliant students was compared with the previous year to determine effectiveness of the interventions. A survey was also given to the SIUE Health Service administrative team to measure the impact of the interventions on staff effort and time consumption associated with the issue of student vaccine compliance. Results: Results showed an overall lack of knowledge among first-semester freshmen regarding required immunizations. The percentage of compliant students rose from 2016 (54.39%) to 2017 (70.84%). Conclusions: While there is no discernible way to demonstrate that the increased compliance rates were attributed solely to the project interventions, SIUE Health Service plans to continue to use all of the student project team interventions in the future
