Summative evaluation: secondary data
diphtheria, herpes zoster, tetanus, pneumococci
DIPHTHERIA, PERTUSSIS, SECONDARY, HERPES ZOSTER, TETANUS, INFLUENZA
The secondary data analysis is based on data on vaccination rates before and after the intervention, which will be compared between intervention and control group and will address the following research questions:
Does the intervention lead to an increase in influenza vaccination uptake rates in the GP practices among persons insured by one of the six substitute health insurance funds aged 60 and older (primary outcome) group?Does the intervention lead to an increase in the vaccination uptake rate for the other vaccinations recommended by the STIKO for persons aged 60 and older (seasonal influenza, pneumococci, herpes zoster, and revaccinations against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) (secondary outcome)?Since previous analyses of vaccination activity have shown significant regional differences in vaccination uptake rate [The focus of the summative evaluation will be on a pre-post comparison between the intervention and control group, considering differences between the two groups that already existed before the intervention. For the post analysis, GP claims data from 7 quarters after the start of the intervention are available for analysis (07/01/2022–03/31/2024). Due to the still unknown impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the next influenza vaccination season, a period of at least 24 months prior to the start of the intervention will be considered for pre-analysis – meaning the vaccination and immunisation uptake rates achieved prior to the intervention. Because influenza vaccination should occur annually, comprehensive information on the baseline population and the number of vaccinated persons is available. The determination of vaccination uptake rates, on the other hand, is more challenging because the size of the population is unclear due to the long periods of time between booster vaccinations. Persons aged 60 and older are recommended to receive a booster vaccination against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis only every 10 years. A booster vaccination against pneumococci after 6 years (or later) is beneficial but not generally recommended by the STIKO. Furthermore, there is no recommendation for a booster vaccination against herpes zoster after the basic immunisation has been completed. The available data does not allow to identify if patients aged 60 and older got a booster vaccination against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis in the past 10 years and if patients aged older than 60 have already been vaccinated against pneumococci or herpes zoster. Therefore, we will analyse the increase in the vaccination uptake rate among participating GPs compared to non-participating GPs. Provided that the necessary number of cases is achieved, subgroup analyses for individual vaccinations (e.g., pneumococci) are planned.