Photo by Lloyd Wolf
Bradford Community Immunization Access Assessment:
Creating a Vaccine Access Network
Students from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford worked with the McKean County Collaborative Board to identify and evaluated community factors influencing access to recommended immunizations, assess the feasibility for the creation of a community resource network for increasing immunization access, and proposed formative pilot strategies to create a Vaccine Access Network (VAN) to improve access and limit perceived barriers to immunization with the Bradford community.
The overall health of a community can typically be linked to the economic health of the area. McKean County, PA has a poverty rate of 16.6% while an estimated 32.7% of Bradford city residents live at or below the poverty level. The potential risks for poor health are much greater for Bradford residents than for residents of McKean County as a whole. Lost work, health impairment, or death due to vaccine preventable illnesses such as flu or pneumonia can have a dramatic impact on impoverished rural communities such as Bradford. Immunizations are therefore a key public health measure to help assure healthier communities. This project was designed to help the Bradford community create a sustainable provider network to strengthen local healthcare capacity and infrastructure.
UPB's Live Presentation in Washington, DC
Contact Information:
Dr. Tammy Haley
Director of Nursing and Radiological Science
Associate Professor, Nursing
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
(814) 362-7640
E-Mail: tmh24@pitt.edu
Dr. Lisa Fiorentino
Director, Center for Rural Health Practice
Associate Professor, Nursing
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
(814) 362-7640
E-Mail: lmf1@pitt.edu
Previous Conference Participation:
2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010