School-Based Clinics to Reduce Exclusions Resulting from Vaccine Noncompliance

Background The state of California requires that children must be vaccinated against certain communicable diseases before they may attend school. Students who do not meet these criteria are at risk for exclusion from school. Few public schools offer preventive or primary health care as ancillary services. Research evidence supports a positive effect of school-based clinics (SBCs) on health care disparities and absenteeism, as well as academic outcomes. Purpose The purpose of this project was to improve access to required vaccinations for students at a large TK-8 school district (“the District”) in Santa Clara County, California, to reduce exclusions from school resulting from noncompliance. Methods An SBC designed to improve access to vaccines was implemented at 2 sites within the District. Pre- and post-implementation noncompliance counts were used to measure the effectiveness of the intervention. Increased rate of compliance with vaccines was the primary outcome. Findings A comparison of pre- and post-intervention compliance data confirms that SBCs not only eliminated exclusions related to noncompliance but also expedited such services to address noncompliance more promptly than in the previous year. Conclusion School Based Clinics increase access to vaccinations, decrease risk for exclusion from school, and allow students to access services in a timelier manner than they were previously able within the greater health system.