Contemporary Pediatrics - September 2008 - (Page 21)

Your Voice felt that the vaccine didn’t work this past year. If we don’t ask, and such concerns remain unvoiced or are not addressed, we have essentially failed our patient in the matter of vaccination against influenza. Once we understand the issues that are possible barriers to vaccination, we have to provide clear, user-friendly information. While we are fortunate to have eradicated polio from the Western hemisphere, it is clear from sporadic outbreaks and incomplete eradication efforts elsewhere that the barriers to vaccination in Baltimore are not so dissimilar from such barriers in Nigeria or Afghanistan.6,7 It comes down to allaying the fears of families and communities, whether well-founded or not. Treating concerns as trivial will only provide strength to misinformation. As Twain quipped, a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is just putting on its shoes. Our work and that of others also suggests that every setting for patient encounters, whether clinic, hospital, or emergency department, offers an opportunity for education and learning. In particular, the last may be a neglected resource for patient and family education due to our focus on acute care needs. We, as a group of professionals caring for children, need to leverage our relationship with families to create improved understanding and move towards fulfilling the goals for universal vaccination. Salwa Khan, MD, MHS University of Maryland Hospital for Children Baltimore References IMAGE: GETTY,DAVID MUIR, C SQUARED STUDIOS Deltoid, not bicep In the August 2008 issue, on page 58 of the flu in children article, the provider is shown giving “a flu shot” much too low on the child’s arm. It is meant to be given in the deltoid, not the bicep. We must maintain a level of excellence in all parts of the journal. Kathy Lemke, APNP Milwaukee, Wis. Clinical Tip Frozen pop serves as prop for strep testing Every child dreads having tonsils/pharynx swabbed for a throat culture to test for strep. In our practice, we keep a box of various frozen popsicles with 25% fruit juice (inexpensively purchased in local grocery stores for about 4 cents a piece or less) in our department’s freezer. Whenever we do a throat culture on patients, they are offered (with parental consent) their favorite flavored pop to suck on while waiting to get the rapid strep test results. The promise to give them one before the culture improves patient cooperation, and soothes their sore throat. Howard Stang, MD White Bear Lake, Minn. 1. McMillan J: It takes a village. Contemp Pediatr 2008:25(7);11 2. Lichenstein R, Khan S, Joshi A, et al: Knowledge, attitudes and practices of urban parents towards influenza vaccination. Poster presentation at the Pediatric Academic Societies Conference, May 2008 3. Khan S, Lichenstein R, Joshi A, et al: An interactive computerbased kiosk for health communication regarding influenza vaccination in an urban setting. Accepted for poster presentation at the American Public Health Association Conference, October 2008 4. Daley MF, Crane LA, Chandramoulic V, et al: Misperceptions about influenza vaccination among parents of healthy young children. Clin Pediatr 2007:46;408 5. Gnanasekaran S, Finkelstein J, Hohman K, et al: Parental perspectives on influenza vaccination among children with asthma. Public Health Rep 2006:121:181 6. Kapp C: Surge in polio spreads alarm in northern Nigeria. Lancet 2003;362:1631 7. Yahya M: Polio vaccines—“no thank you!” Barriers to polio eradication in Northern Nigeria. African Affairs 2007:106;185 SEPTEMBER 2008 CONTEMPORARY PEDIATRICS 21

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Contemporary Pediatrics - September 2008

Contemporary Pediatrics - September 2008 Contents Editorial Your Voice Clinical Tip News Updates Eye on Washington Puzzler Dermatology: What’s your Dx? Behavior Cover Story: ECC Epidemic Parent Guides Discipline Techniques: The 12-Month-Old Exercise-induced Bronchospasm: Keeping Our Patients Active Food Safety Parent Guide CPR--Food Safety Malnutrition Links Surgeon General Links Hospice Links Childhood Cancer Links Rx for a Healthy Practice Rx for a Healthy Practice New Products Author Guidelines Journal Club Events Calendar Classifieds Index of Advertisers Postscript

Contemporary Pediatrics - September 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.