Catch-up Scheduling for Childhood Vaccination

In this report, we outline the development of the core optimization technology used within a decision support tool to help providers and caretakers in constructing catchup schedules for childhood immunization. These schedules ensure that a child continues to receive timely coverage against vaccine preventable diseases in the likely event that one or more doses have been delayed. We develop a Dynamic Programming algorithm that exploits the typical size and structure of the problem to construct optimized schedules at almost the click of a button. In using an optimization based algorithm, our approach is unique not only in methodology but also in the information, strategy and advice we can offer to the user. The tool is being advocated by both the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as a means of encouraging caretakers and providers to take a more proactive role in ensuring timely vaccination coverage for children, as well as ensuring the accuracy and quality of a catch-up regime.