Scheduling problems lead to missed immunizations

By Anne Harding

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Making sure kids get all their shots has a lot to do with convenience and communication, new research shows.

Children whose parents have difficulty scheduling appointments or who have a tough time communicating with their child's doctor are more likely to be under-immunized, Dr. Melissa Stockwell, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics and population family health, Columbia University Medical Center, and her colleagues found.

Stockwell reported these findings today at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting in Baltimore.

'Under-immunized' means the children were missing at least one of the shots making up the basic early childhood vaccination series given to children 19 to 35 months old, Stockwell explained in an interview. "Any time kids are under-immunized, it does put them at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases," she said.

...Children whose parents had rescheduled appointments were 3.8 times more likely to have missed an immunization visit, while those whose parents had doubts about the importance of vaccines were 3.3 times more likely to have missed an appointment.

Read complete findings here!

Sample Student 24-Hour Clock

Ever wonder how college students schedule their day?

Take a look at this 24-hour clock time management tool at Study Guide and Strategies to help college students see how they schedule their days.

Here are the categories that students are expected to schedule time for in any 24-hour period.

- Classes
- Studying
- Sleeping
- Exercise/sports
- Work/internship
- Family commitments
- Personal care/grooming
- Meal preparation/eating/clean-up
- Transportation (school, work, etc.)
- Relaxing/TV/video games, etc. (alone)
- Socializing/entertainment (with friends)
- Other

Need Time Management Tips for 2009?

Found a great website offering all kinds of time management tips for 2009 - Patty Kreamer's Organizing Tips.

Patty Kreamer, CPO® is the President of Kreamer Connect, Inc., a Pittsburgh, PA -based company that works with residential and corporate clients to become more productive and perform better while at the same time simplifying their work and lives.

Time Management Trends for 2009

If you don't yet have a fancy personal electronic time management device, you will probably get one this year as a gift.

Here are some of the trends in time management that everyone is buzzing about:

1. Mobile applications for time management such as the iPod, and iPod Touch Task Manager; Pocket PC or Smartphone task managers will continue to be in big demand. The Blackberry and Palm products will also continue to increase market share.

2. Online applications and web calendars allowing collaboration or sharing will also in big demand. There are already many free or relatively inexpensive solutions available.

3. Desktop calendars will continue to have value for many who do not want to be tied to electronics all the time.

Let's face it, I think it is fair to say that 2009 will continue to see advances in mobile, web and electronic time management devices - but I don't think the basic calendar is going anywhere for decades to come. If anything people will end up with at least two types and go back and forth between both.

That's my prediction anyway!

Scheduling Children for Activities in 2009

If time management is one of your big concerns to 2009, especially regarding scheduling children into multiple activities, you should heed the words of Diane Laney Fitzpatrick in an article at Suite 101.

Here are some of her tips for scheduling children:

1. Pay close attention to the schedules of younger children who do not need to specialize in their interests. "No matter how much your son loves soccer, playing it year-round and on more than one team at a time is overkill." Fitzpatrick says if a parent wants to expose children to a variety of activities, choose one sport, a program in the arts (music, art, drama etc), and something that will emphasize socialization and relationships such as clubs or scouts. Kids are able to handle variety in their schedules better than we think.

2. Fitzpatrick suggests scheduling children in one sport at a time. She says that participating in more than one sport per season forces children and parents to juggle schedules to race from one practice or game to another. Fitzpatrick advises, "Tell your child that in order to be a good team member, (s)he can’t divide time between two sports."

3. Consider scheduling children in community-based, recreational activities which are often more low-key, less intense, less costly and require less time commitment than private clubs. When considering these programs don't forget time and costs required for travel.

Certainly, a good scheduling calendar would be of value for moms who are scheduling children and managing family calendars.

Scheduling Nightmare for Tuscon School

Tuscon Unified School District has scheduling nightmare as computer program puts students in wrong classes.

Mariah Adkisson auditioned and was accepted into the advanced drama class at Tucson High Magnet School last fall. So the 17-year-old was shocked when she picked up her schedule last week. She'd gotten welding instead.

Hers is a story echoed by many students in the Tucson Unified School District who completed their schedule requests before school was out only to find now that they didn't get what they wanted or needed.

School administrators spend several hours every semester making sure schedules are just right. Whether scheduling classes, lesson plans, classroom activities or field trips, administrators need calendar and scheduling software to saves them time and energy.

Many schools from K-12 to colleges use The Calendar Planner as their time management tool to save time by creating reusable scheduling templates.

Source - The Tuscon Citizen by Mary Bustamante

Schedule Your 2009 Holidays with The Calendar Planner

Start your 2009 calendar now!

Each copy of The Calendar Planner calendar software comes with a set of free 2009 holidays as well as future holidays up to 2014. These holidays include both National (Federal) holidays as well as most local observances for easy import into The Calendar Planner.

When you create your 2009 calendar, select which country's holidays you wish to use. Use one country, or any combination of countries, or use the easy Show and Hide Feature in the The Calendar Planner Standard Edition to switch between all of them.

Free holidays from the following countries are available for the The Calendar Planner Standard Edition:
Australia
Brazil
Canada
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Jewish Holidays (National and religious observances)
Spain
United States
United Kingdom

Tips to Manage Time from Reader's Digest

According to recent data -- and most people's experience --the workweek is expanding and leisure time is evaporating, not only for top-level executives but for the average person as well. Most experts advocate organization as the key to getting a grip on time. They suggest you start by asking what your real goals are for yourself, your family, and your career. With goals established, break your time down into manageable segments.

1. Use a monthly personal calendar for short-term scheduling and a 6-month calendar for long-range scheduling. Note all things that pertain to your goals, including classes you want to take (learning a computer program for your job or mastering the piano for fun), regular exercise sessions, social events, and family time.

2. On a daily action list, categorize tasks: those that need immediate attention (you had better do them yourself), those that can be delegated (you can hire a teenager to mow the lawn or to clean the garage, for example), and those that can be put off. To avoid procrastination, tackle the toughest jobs first, breaking them into smaller, less daunting components.

3. Free up time for the things you really want to do by simplifying your life. Let go of activities (your third church committee assignment or polishing the car every week, for example) that don't contribute to your goals.

4. Reduce the waste - and frustration - of everyday delays. Wherever you go, take reading material or a portable player with music you want to hear. Then when you have to wait, you can make good use of or enjoy the time.

5. Set aside a half-hour toward the end of the day to worry. Psychologist Roland Nathan believes that having a formal worrying time cuts down the amount of worrying you do.

Source - Reader's Digest