[The effect of health care settings on children's immunization status].

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of practice settings (CLSC and private office) and family characteristics (mother's age and education, children's rank in families) on children's immunization status and adherence to the immunization schedule. The study population was composed of 209 children born in 1991 and residing in the Regional Municipal County of Montmagny, Quebec. After adjusting for mother's education, those children vaccinated in a private office were at 13.3 times higher risk for incomplete immunization than those vaccinated in a CLSC. A similar but nonsignificant result was obtained regarding adherence to the immunization schedule. The factors likely to account for the results are the first contact and follow-up mechanisms put into place by the CLSC. The effectiveness of such mechanisms seems to be related to their population-based rather than client-oriented responsibility.