Database Lab Project: Vaccination Rates and Public Health in the US

This database lab project analyzes vaccination rates in the United States from 1998 to 2016, utilizing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccinations. The study focuses on children aged 19-35 months, examining vaccination rates in relation to racial demographics (White vs. Black or African American) and poverty levels. Descriptive analysis, including line charts and bar graphs, reveals that white children exhibited higher vaccination rates compared to Black children, and children from families above the poverty line had higher vaccination rates than those below. The project discusses the importance of vaccinations in preventing disease outbreaks and highlights the need for increased awareness and targeted health campaigns, particularly among Black populations and individuals with lower economic status to achieve optimal immunization rates. The conclusion emphasizes the impact of socioeconomic factors on vaccination rates and the need for public health interventions to address disparities and improve overall health outcomes.

Running head: VACCINATION 1
Database Lab Project - Vaccination

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Executive Summary
Vaccination is a practice that different countries strive to administer to their citizens to
prevent the outbreak and spread of diseases. However, countries must rely on quality and
accurate information to plan and identify the trends in vaccination for different conditions in
future planning. Therefore, the lab report presents the use of data from a reliable source. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website and database provides information on the
vaccination of measles, mumps, and rubella in the United States from 1998 to 2016. The target
group was children between 19- and 35-months old and was based on the race and poverty levels
of their parents. From the descriptive analysis, it is noted that white children had a higher rate of
vaccination compared to Black children, and those individuals living below the poverty line
exhibited lower rates of vaccination compared to those living above the poverty level.
Introduction
Vaccination is an essential exercise that establishes health growth and development
among individuals. Initially, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) reported that,
in the mid-20th century, chronic diseases such as haemophilus influenza, polio, measles,
whooping cough, and rubella struck thousands of adults, children, and infants across the United
States. Since the development of the vaccines and their widespread usage, the rates of these
diseases have been on the decline and most of them are barely heard of today (Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). The agency further reported that nearly anyone in the
United States was diagnosed with measles before the invention of the vaccines, which resulted in
many deaths each year. Additionally, an epidemic of rubella commonly known as German
measles infected 12.5 million Americans resulting in 2,000 children mortalities and 11,000

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miscarriages between 1964 and1965 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018).
However, since the advent of vaccinations, only 15 cases have been reported since 2012.
Problem Definition
With such progressive success in healthcare due to vaccination, one might ask why the
relevant agencies keep administering vaccines for diseases that are rarely reported or seemingly
extinct. It is essential to note that vaccines not only protect individuals but also prevent the
spread of the diseases in a population. If a case of a disease is introduced into a community with
unvaccinated individuals, an outbreak is likely to occur. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (2018) reported that in 2013, cases of measles infection were reported in Texas and
New York City, which were associated with low rates of vaccination among the people in those
locations. This lab report presents the use of databases to obtain data for the evaluation of
vaccination rates of measles, mumps, and rubella as a problem facing the country.
Performance: The Measurement
The measurements under performance would focus on the data sources, period of study,
the methodology, target population, the system analysis of the measurements.
Data Sources and Measurement Period
The vaccination data was collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
website, which provided information on vaccination rates of different diseases using the data
finder tool. The tool helped in identification of the information on the selected conditions.
Concisely, the vaccination information accessed from the website was used to evaluate key
aspects of the previous statistics on administering vaccines in the United States. The site has a
collection of data from 1998 to 2016 that was collected for the lab report project (Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). The selected measurement period was adequate for

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giving sufficient insights that can enhance forecasting and future planning on the outcomes using
the results.
Method and Target Population
The lab report utilized data from secondary sources, which was a reliable government
source that included information on the selected topic of study (Padmanabhan et al., 2019). The
author read in detail the data on the website to ensure it was in line with the topic of study before
embarking on data mining for synthesis and evaluation. Descriptive analysis was used with the
help of visual aids such as graphs to evaluate and present the information (Larson & Farber,
2019). The analysis focused on children between 19- and 35-months old who were reported to be
the most vulnerable to the spread of the selected diseases based on race and poverty levels in the
United States. Additionally, the collected data included the percentage of children who were
immunized as a representation of the rates at which the vaccines were administered in the
mentioned years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).
Measurement System Analysis
The author carefully examined the data to assess for the presence of potential
inconsistencies among different data sets. In case of missing links in the data under the specified
subtopic, the author opted for a different set of data concerning a similar topic so that an analysis
of a complete data set was completed (Kostadinovska, Asim, Pletea, & Pauws, 2019). Using that
approach, the author ensured that the limitations of the data set were avoided and the intended
insights were delivered. Additionally, complete data sets provided reduced confusion among the
data that could jeopardize the validity and plausibility of the findings.

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Data Analysis and Interpretation
In figure 1, the vaccination of measles, mumps, and rubella are represented in a
metropolitan statistical area in the United States based on racial demographics.
Figure 1. Line chart for vaccination rates by race in percentage.
In figure 2, the data represents the vaccination of measles, mumps, and rubella based on the level
of poverty in the United States as shown below.
Figure 2: Bar graph for vaccination rates by poverty level.
Findings and Interpretations
In figure 1, it is noted that the rate of vaccination among African Americans and Black
people in the United States was lower compared to white people from the period between1998
and 2016. Additionally, there was only a single year, which recorded higher vaccination rates of
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
84.0
85.0
86.0
87.0
88.0
89.0
90.0
91.0
92.0
93.0
94.0
Line chart for vaccination rates by race in percentage
(1998-2016)
All White only
Black or African American only
Year
Rate in percentage

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African
American
exceeding
that of the
Americans in
2010.
Concisely,
deploying the
rate of
vaccination
for the entire
population as a baseline, it was determined that in most years, the number of the African
Americans receiving vaccinations was below the baseline.
On the other hand, it is noted in figure 2 that the level of poverty determined the rate of
seeking and acquisition of vaccines for the measles, mumps, and rubella. It was observed that the
percentage rates for vaccinations was higher in children from individuals who lived above the
poverty level compared to those who lived below the level of poverty. Figure 2 further depicts
that poverty levels was a key determinant for the vaccination rates among the people.
Conclusion and Recommendations
From the analysis and interpretation of the results, the increase that was observed in the
percentage of African American children getting vaccines over the past decades can be attributed
to increased awareness of the importance of vaccinations as acknowledged in a study by Suárez,
Wallington, Greaney, and Lindsay (2019). However, immunization rates remain lower among
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
86.0
87.0
88.0
89.0
90.0
91.0
92.0
93.0
94.0
Bar graph for vaccination rates by
poverty level
(1998-2016)
Below poverty level At or above poverty level
Year
Rate in percentage

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individuals with lower economic status compared to those with higher standards of living; this
could be associated with lower levels if awareness of the benefits of the vaccines among this
group (Swiecki‐Sikora, Henry, & Kepka, 2019). The ignorance of vaccine benefits among the
lower economic status groups could be linked to the lack of information about diseases that
could prompt them to acquire vaccines. Agencies in the health sector should continue targeting
awareness campaigns to increase the rate of vaccinations among the identified groups within
those populations to achieve 100% immunization rates. Additionally, more focus should be given
to Black populations and individuals living below the poverty level, as they are the groups most
resistant to vaccination, as indicated in the results.

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References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017, August 9). National center for health
statistics; Health, United States, 2017 – Data finder. Retrieved from Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2017.htm?
search=Vaccination.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, June 29). Vaccines and immunization.
Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/whatifstop.htm.
Kostadinovska, A., Asim, M., Pletea, D., & Pauws, S. (2019). Overview of data linkage methods
for integrating separate health data sources. In Data Science for Healthcare (pp. 217-
238). Springer, Cham.
Larson, R., & Farber, B. (2019). Elementary statistics. London: Pearson.
Padmanabhan, S., Carty, L., Cameron, E., Ghosh, R. E., Williams, R., & Strongman, H. (2019).
Approach to record linkage of primary care data from Clinical Practice Research Datalink
to other health-related patient data: Overview and implications. European Journal of
Epidemiology, 34(1), 91-99. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-018-0442-4
Suárez, P., Wallington, S. F., Greaney, M. L., & Lindsay, A. C. (2019). Exploring HPV
knowledge, awareness, beliefs, attitudes, and vaccine acceptability of Latino fathers
living in the United States: An integrative review. Journal of Community Health, 17 (4),
1-13. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00636-7
Swiecki‐Sikora, A. L., Henry, K. A., & Kepka, D. (2019). HPV vaccination coverage among
U.S. teens across the rural‐urban continuum. The Journal of Rural Health 12(2). Doi:
https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12353.