SENIOR VOLUNTEER FOR CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION
PROJECT SUMMARY FOR TEXAS
Based on positive evaluation results from the demonstration phase, the Texas Department of Health Immunization Division through its Shots Across Texas campaign supported in part by the program's continuation and dissemination of the model to other Texas communities. Texas Department of Health continues to provide partial support to thirteen SCI sites.
Texas SCI program sites are located in Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont/Port Arthur, Big Spring, Colorado City, Dallas, Denton/Lewisville/Carrollton, El Paso, Fort Worth, Levelland, Longview, Sherman, and Temple/Killeen.
Trained volunteers who are members of an established volunteer organization
in a community (e.g., Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) first educate new
mothers in hospitals or birthing centers about preschool immunization; second,
enroll consenting mothers into a community-based immunization reminder program;
third, call or send cards reminding mothers of their children's' two, four, six
and twelve month immunizations; and fourth, based on official immunization
records evaluate their efforts.
DEMONSTRATION IN OTHER STATES BEYOND TEXAS
| Beginning
in late 1996, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
awarded a two year grant to the Institute to share its Seniors
for Childhood Immunization model with the other states in Region
VI. The funding has allowed technical assistance and training for
Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Stanley Ingman, Ph.
D., and Ann Reban, M.S.N., directed the project. This "sharing" of the model differs from the
Institute's role in disseminating the SCI model in Texas.
In Texas, Institute staff provide continuing technical assistance, training, monitoring, and evaluation research services to all 14 SCI program sites in Texas. For the four other states, Institute staff are providing training and technical assistance so that a state can undertake a demonstration of the Seniors for Childhood Immunization model at a selected site. Funding for and the conduct of the "state specific" demonstration then becomes the responsibility of the involved RSVP or other senior volunteer organization and its supporters with the encouragement and support of the state's public health sector within the individual state. Thus far, the Institute has offered training video conferences for all states in Region VI. Follow-up on site training and technical assistance has been provided to Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. State specific training manuals have been produced each state. In addition, demonstration sites were selected in all four states. Merck provided funding to the Louisiana demonstration and has pledged funding for the Oklahoma site. Additional funding to continue the demonstration of the SCI model
in other states beyond Texas and Region VI was received in October,
1998, from HRSA. This funding allows the Institute to work with
six states over a three year |