American Journal of Public Health
Volume 104, Issue 12 (December 2014)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

Transforming Public Health Delivery Systems With Open Science Principles
Glen P. Mays, PhD, MPH, and F. Douglas Scutchfield, MD
Glen Mays is with the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Services and Systems Research, Department of Health Management and Policy, College of Public Health, The University of Kentucky, Lexington. F. Douglas Scutchfield is with the Colleges of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Kentucky.
[No abstract]

The Effects of the State of Tennessee Immunization Policy Change of 2011–2012 on Vaccination Uptake in East Tennessee
Margaret A. Knight, Anne D. Kershenbaum, Martha Buchanan, Janet Ridley, Paul C. Erwin
American Journal of Public Health: December 2014, Vol. 104, No. 12: e39–e39.
[No abstract]

The Texas Children’s Hospital Immunization Forecaster: Conceptualization to Implementation
Rachel M. Cunningham, MPH, Leila C. Sahni, MPH, G Brady Kerr, BSN, Laura L. King, MSN, Nathan A. Bunker, BS, and Julie A. Boom, MD
Rachel M. Cunningham, Leila C. Sahni, G. Brady Kerr, Laura L. King, and Julie A. Boom are with the Immunization Project, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston. Nathan A. Bunker is with Dandelion Software & Research, Inc., Toquerville, UT.
Abstract
Objectives. Immunization forecasting systems evaluate patient vaccination histories and recommend the dates and vaccines that should be administered. We described the conceptualization, development, implementation, and distribution of a novel immunization forecaster, the Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) Forecaster.
Methods. In 2007, TCH convened an internal expert team that included a pediatrician, immunization nurse, software engineer, and immunization subject matter experts to develop the TCH Forecaster. Our team developed the design of the model, wrote the software, populated the Excel tables, integrated the software, and tested the Forecaster. We created a table of rules that contained each vaccine’s recommendations, minimum ages and intervals, and contraindications, which served as the basis for the TCH Forecaster.
Results. We created 15 vaccine tables that incorporated 79 unique dose states and 84 vaccine types to operationalize the entire United States recommended immunization schedule. The TCH Forecaster was implemented throughout the TCH system, the Indian Health Service, and the Virginia Department of Health. The TCH Forecast Tester is currently being used nationally.
Conclusions. Immunization forecasting systems might positively affect adherence to vaccine recommendations. Efforts to support health care provider utilization of immunization forecasting systems and to evaluate their impact on patient care are needed.

A Public Health Achievement Under Adversity: The Eradication of Poliomyelitis From Peru, 1991
Deepak Sobti, MD, Marcos Cueto, PhD, and Yuan He, BS
Abstract
The fight to achieve global eradication of poliomyelitis continues. Although native transmission of poliovirus was halted in the Western Hemisphere by the early 1990s, and only a few cases have been imported in the past few years, much of Latin America’s story remains to be told. Peru conducted a successful flexible, or flattened, vertical campaign in 1991. The initial disease-oriented programs began to collaborate with community-oriented primary health care systems, thus strengthening public–private partnerships and enabling the common goal of poliomyelitis eradication to prevail despite rampant terrorism, economic instability, and political turmoil. Committed leaders in Peru’s Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organization, and Rotary International, as well as dedicated health workers who acted with missionary zeal, facilitated acquisition of adequate technologies, coordinated work at the local level, and increased community engagement, despite sometimes being unable to institutionalize public health improvements.