New research from the University of Colorado School of Medicine
shows that school-based health centers are highly effective in
delivering comprehensive care, especially vaccines to
adolescents. The study, published today in the journal
Pediatrics, highlights the value of a `captive audience' in a
school setting where students can be easily reminded to get
recommended vaccinations. "School-based health centers can
provide comprehensive care to children and adolescents who are
hard to reach," says CU School of Medicine professor of
pediatrics Allison Kempe, MD, MPH, and lead author of the study.
"I think it's a very important model especially in underserved
and low income areas. School-based health centers are not
prevalent across the United States but I think they should be."
Kempe, director of the Children's Outcomes Research Program at
Children's Hospital Colorado, said the scope of immunizations
for adolescents has expanded markedly over the last few years,
prompting discussions about a platform of inoculat