AAFP Adolescent Immunization Office Champions Project

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is recruiting 20 family medicine practices for the Adolescent Immunization Office Champions Project, which aims to provide tools and effective strategies for developing a culture that promotes the importance of adolescent immunizations.

Why Participate?

Immunizations are one of the greatest public health achievements, however national data continue to show that adolescent immunization rates remain well below Healthy People 2020 goals. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates are of specific concern. To help improve adolescent immunization rates, the AAFP is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to address this need through the Adolescent Immunization Office Champions Project.

The project will focus on the following key areas:

Improving strong recommendations for adolescent vaccines.
Reducing missed opportunities to immunize adolescent patients.
Increasing parental awareness and acceptance of adolescent vaccines, and addressing myths and misconceptions.
Implementing evidence-based practices to improve vaccine coverage.

Apply now to participate in the Adolescent Immunization Office Champions Project. Deadline is January 7, 2013.
(4-page Word file. About downloads)

Eligibility and Project Requirements

Selected participants must be:

An AAFP active member.
A practicing family physician.

If you are selected to participate in the Adolescent Immunization Office Champions Project, you must agree to:

Complete an AAFP Conflict of Interest Form.
Complete a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the project.
Designate a family physician in your practice who will complete the AAFP METRIC Adolescent Immunization (members only) performance improvement module.
Conduct two chart reviews of 50 random adolescent patient charts, following parameters distributed during the course of the project.
Designate an "office champion," who could be a family physician or other staff member. The office champion will participate in monthly conference calls and training webinars.
Complete two practice surveys at the pre- and post-intervention phase.
Complete a mid-project interview with AAFP project staff.
Develop an action plan to implement office system changes to increase adolescent immunization rates in the practice's daily office routines.

Recognition and Compensation

If your practice is selected to participate and completes the AAFP Adolescent Immunization Office Champions Project, your practice will receive $3,000 to cover administrative costs. Payments will be made based on the following milestones:

$1,000 awarded following completion of the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative course, teleconference, pre-project survey, staff meeting, and submission of an implementation plan (approximately May 2013).
$1,000 awarded following completion of the AAFP METRIC Adolescent Immunization performance improvement module.
$1,000 awarded following completion of all phases of the program including a mid-term interview, and a post-project survey (approximately June 2015).
$25 registration fee for participation in the AAFP METRIC Adolescent Immunization performance improvement module to be paid by AAFP. Upon successful completion of the METRIC module, the family physicians will receive 20 prescribed CME credits by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Once your practice completes the program, your practice will receive recognition materials including:

A recognition certificate that reads: "This practice is recognized by the American Academy of Family Physicians for excellence in adolescent immunizations."
A press release you can send to your local newspaper.
A certificate for your Office Champion, indicating he or she has completed the Adolescent Immunization Office Champions project by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
An article for your patient newsletter.
Tips on holding a recognition ceremony for staff.
Tips on publicizing your champion status.

Additionally, your practice and others who complete the project will receive recognition in appropriate AAFP communication vehicles.

Project Timeline

The total duration of this project is three years. The duration of the implementation phase is seventeen months. This phase is estimated to start in February 2013 and end by June 2014.

Apply now to participate in the Adolescent Immunization Office Champions Project. Deadline is January 7, 2013.
(4-page Word file. About downloads)

Questions?

For more information, contact Pamela Carter-Smith at pcarter@aafp.org or 800-274-2237 x 3162.

This project is sponsored by a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1U66IP000676-01)