Pam Strohfus, coordinator for the Doctor of Nursing Practice program in the School of Nursing and a team of co-authors have published an article titled, “Health Care Providers’ Knowledge Assessment of Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine,” in the Journal of Applied Nursing Research.
Strohfus’ co-authors include Teresa Collins, an immunizations program manager at Central District Health Department in Boise, Idaho, Vanessa Phillips, a Boise State nursing alumna, and Richard Remington, a statistic and manuscript consultant with Quantified Inc.
The article assessed educational needs of health care personnel in vaccine storage and handling. The Immunization Knowledge Assessment Tool (IKAT) was used to evaluate knowledge related to delivery and storage of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine among healthcare personnel in Idaho. Using descriptive analysis, only 61 percent of respondents achieved a passing score of 80 percent. Knowledge deficits were revealed among health care personnel, physicians, and other providers in immunization administration and handling of the MMR vaccine. Scores were highest among registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and medical assistants.