Nonmedical Exemptions to Vaccination in Illinois: A Multi-scalar Analysis
Open Access
- Author:
- Dzwonczyk, Elizabeth Anne
- Graduate Program:
- Geography
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- None
- Committee Members:
- Deryck William Holdsworth, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
- Keywords:
- immunization
nonmedical exemption
anti-vaccination
hot spot analysis
Illinois
public health - Abstract:
- The CDC publishes annual estimates of school-age children vaccination rates that are high at the federal-level, yet, vary significantly at lower scales. Vaccination requirements, exemption policies and data collection are mandated by individual states, leading to wide variations in compliance and difficulties in monitoring immunization levels and trends over time. At the local-scale low vaccination rates result in higher susceptibility to vaccine-preventable outbreaks; research conducted at this scale is beneficial for preventative public health efforts. However, most literature focuses on undervaccination risk factors including socioeconomic status, education level and individual preference that are helpful in detecting which demographics are most susceptible but not in determining where these populations are located. This thesis uses two cluster detection functions – Getis-Ord Gi* Hot Spot Analysis and Anselin Local Moran’s I – to identify and compare nonmedical exemption clusters in Illinois schools for two school years. The temporal analysis shows that in the span of ten years, nonmedical exemption clustering within Illinois rose and spread throughout the state. Spatial statistics are a useful tool in identifying geographic clusters of high exemption rate schools, thereby finding the locations of populations most susceptible to vaccine-preventable outbreaks.