BACKGROUND. In Colorado, the 2003 to 2004 influenza season was unusually early and severe and received substantial media attention.

A survey was administered to 828 parents from metropolitan Denver, Colorado, and 57% responded. Of the respondents, 47% thought their child was unlikely to contract influenza, 70% thought influenza vaccine could cause influenza, and 21% considered influenza vaccination unsafe for a 1-year-old child. The influenza immunization rate in children of surveyed parents was 71%. In multivariate analyses, the perception that influenza vaccination was the social norm was positively associated with immunization (odds ratio [OR], 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.69), and anticipating immunization barriers was negatively associated with immunization (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.49-0.95). Parents of young children hold a number of misperceptions about influenza disease and vaccination. Despite this, high immunization rates are achievable in this population.

This stepped intervention of tracking and case management improved infant immunization status and receipt of preventive care in a population of high-risk urban infants of low socioeconomic status.

Two thirds of the cases in which parents reported initial intent to go to an emergency department or urgent care facility were not deemed urgent by the call center, whereas 15% of calls from parents who intended to stay home were deemed urgent. If call-center triage recommendations were followed in even half of all cases, then these results would translate into substantial cost savings for the health care system.