Digital integration between hospitals and local health authorities for enhanced vaccination coverage among frail patients: the CareVax study protocol.
Alberto Lontano, Luca Regazzi, Diego Maria Tona, Matteo Di Pumpo, Martina Porcelli, Maria Gabriella Cacciuttolo, Paolo Parente, Antonio Gasbarrini, Giuseppe Grandaliano, Nicola Panocchia, Loris Lopetuso, Tina Pasciuto, Chiara Cadeddu, Stefania Bruno, Patrizia Laurenti, Domenico Pascucci, Roberta Pastorino
Author Information
Alberto Lontano: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Luca Regazzi: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Diego Maria Tona: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Matteo Di Pumpo: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Martina Porcelli: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Maria Gabriella Cacciuttolo: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Paolo Parente: Local Health Authority ASL Roma 1, Rome, Italy.
Antonio Gasbarrini: Department of Translational Medicine and Surgery, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Giuseppe Grandaliano: Department of Translational Medicine and Surgery, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Nicola Panocchia: Department of Translational Medicine and Surgery, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Loris Lopetuso: Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Tina Pasciuto: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Chiara Cadeddu: Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Stefania Bruno: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Patrizia Laurenti: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Domenico Pascucci: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Roberta Pastorino: Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universit�� Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Background: The 2022-2025 Italian Plan for vaccine prevention (PNPV), recognizes vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) as significant contributors to mortality, morbidity, and healthcare expenditure. The digitalization of the national vaccine registry is underway. Initiatives aimed at enhancing digital integration between hospitals and territories are limited, and there is still a gap in the development of automated systems for identifying patients who could benefit from vaccinations directly offered from hospitals. Methods: Adult frail patients who access the hospital will be recruited over 4���years, following the acquisition of informed consent. With the assistance of a privacy-preserving automated algorithm, electronic hospital and vaccination records will be utilized to assess eligibility for vaccinations against , , , and . Eligible patients will be invited to schedule a vaccination appointment and will be asked to fill in a questionnaire evaluating patient-reported experience measures (PREMs). Outcomes of interest are the feasibility of the pathway, patients' satisfaction and concerns with it, and its impact on vaccination coverage. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved by the ethics committee of the "Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli" -FPG- (comitato.etico@policlinicogemelli.it), with approval number 5819. Furthermore, it has been published on ClinicalTrial.gov with the approval number NCT06127563. The results of the study will be disseminated via conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT06127563.
