Bit of a rant. Help me out here.

I take care of my kids medical needs. Handled most med exams, sport physicals, vaccinations, dental appointments, ortho appointments, since birth.

My local after hours clinic has the H1N1, and my 12 yo daughter chose to get the nasal spray, after talking it over with me, the nurse, the doc, when in for something else.

Why in the hell do they have forms like the following, where the mom is required to enter her identifying information? Do not these stone age people realize it can be the dads in many cases getting the vaccines?

Is it me, am I being over sensitive? Why would they capture only one parent's information, and only the moms? Why wouldn't they ask for identifying information for the parent or guardian of the child getting the shot instead?

http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize/vis/ec-83.pdf

Not At All. We need to raise the consciousness of people about this bigotry. Sure, they'll say it's innocent, but that doesn't excuse it. These are TX tax dollars being spent, and the obligation is there to have it for ALL Texans not just the mothers. What if the form had indicated "Father's Name" instead? [Rhet.]

No, they won't destroy the current print run, but you probably know the players enough where a few well-placed phone calls and letters could get the form changed for the next print run.

Read the form carefully -- it's not sexist. Every place where an adult parent or legal guardian is required to provide authorization or identity, they are referred to as just that -- an authorizing adult, parent, or legal guardian.

You're over-reading it. The scientific purpose is to track any family/genetic reactions to the vaccine. And, unfortunately, the only directly observable positive parent identification we can make is about a child's mother. No way to tell who (genetically) is the sperm donor for a child, but it is pretty obvious who the other genetic contributor is -- the mother.

The other reason is to provide additional information to separate and identify children with the same name.

That's why they ask for the mother's name. Not because it is the mother authorizing the child to get the vaccine. They use it for search purposes to identify "Little Johnny" from all of the other "Little Johnny"s as well (it's stated as such in the form to request for a child's immunization record from Imm-Trac).

"I am an adult who can legally consent for the person named below to get the vaccine."

not trying to be over stuck on it...really...but this still doesn't jive Tef...

where's the bit on there about the genetic info capture?

there's room for a mother's printed name, it doesn't discern between bio & adoptive mothers, and a signature attesting that you're an adult who's a parent or guardian. never seen a form lacking room for printing the name of a parent or guardian before who's signing...particularly with one having room for a witness to sign....

Just went out to check other state forms. IPV, DTAP, MMR, standard flu shot, chicken pox, none of them carry the mother's name.

Can't find the specific form in other state's health department listings by way of web search. Cannot find CDC equivelent to this "addendum."

Think this form is specific to Texas, think the dufus who did it wasn't in anyway trying to track it back for scientific purposes.

What get's my husband's drawers in a wad is at our children's hosptial- you check in at the kiosk by "child's mother's name" and Uhm, the child "mother" doesn't have legal or physical custody of them. Then if I'm there (Stepmom / Legal Power of Attorney Holder) they think I am her (she even has a different last name) and it's a HUGE PIA everytime.

Husband has complained over and over about this. The response, "this is just how we do it."

So no, you aren't the only one that thinks things are sexist.

i can relate. my wife told me just to let it go. but the last time i took the boys to the dentist they wouldn't even look at me and asked her all sorts of questions. 'do they brush and floss every day/night'. how the hell would she know, she doesn't have them???!!! then they took a pic of my 2 yr old and had mommy hold him and completely ignored me. the last straw was when her name was listed as the contact and insurer. i told them to put my name on it. when they asked why i said 'so you'll get paid'. they changed it. still very frustrating. at their normal doc the roles are opposite because they can telll i'm the only one involved.

I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart now that I heard their recent ad about kids with the flu and how their mothers take care of them. Why didn't they say parents or use Mom for one example and Dad for another. I'll pay a few extra $$ at Target or do without before I'll step foot in another Wal-Mart! I'm waiting to hear the commercial again so I can take notes and send them a letter of complaint.

I think its sexist too. The chance that some government agency is actually collecting that data successfully, much less doing anything useful with it, is somewhere between slim and none. Even if they did, why use the flu shot form for that? They could build their databases with birth certificates.

I noted it was for searching purposes (and presumably from a scientific research viewpoint, genetic tracking of response).

The only other reference I found was on the form to request your child's records they also ask for the mother's name, but specifically note it is optional and to assist in searching/locating the proper record.

It's part of Texas' immunization tracking system to track children and their immunizations from birth. Well, at birth, the state only has the mother's name with absolute certainty.

So you are right in a way that it is to tie it back to the child's birth certificate records.

I'm sure in Texas, you can imagine how many Jose Garcias are born.

I really, really, really appreciate your contributions, you offer great advice, so this is in no way an in your face disagreement. But none, as in zero, of the state's other immunization disclosures have this. As in Hib, Dtap, Polio, MMR, Varicella, none of them. Pulled up the web site of the disclosures for the state health department for all vaccines. So though if it were across the board you would be spot on, in this case I think it's the case of sexist bureaucrat screwing it up on this H1N1 form.

In a non radical way, as in not sounding like I'm a problem, just a concerned single dad who provides most of his kid's medical care, I will chase this.

1. Drat, I was hoping to see you on the news in your Green Hornet uniform at the Board of Education meeting
2. I, for one, and curious about how this turns out, so pls follow up here
3. Kudos, my friend; first the online grades/attendance system issue and now this form...action, not just complaints

No offense taken. I noticed that too, and was just trying to understand the possible rationale the state has taken on why it is on there.

As I noted, the only other place I saw it was on the records request form, and they note there, that it is optional, and only to help in searching.

It could also be one of those "optional" data fields that aren't clearly labeled as such, and simply a grab for more information than they're legally entitled to in the course of implementing their legislated and/or administratively ordered mandate.

Basically, they put in all sorts of stuff (just like those "warranty" forms that want to know all about your "interests") in the hopes that people will blindly assume that it is required and fill it in anyway.

Shame on them if it turns out to be a "fluffing up the database" information grab on the unsuspecting public.

Good luck on getting to the bottom of it.

A few years back, in Texas if I recall correctly, I was filling out some paperwork for the school district on post. I found out that the mother could get all the information but the father couldn't. I explained that I was a parent too, but they brushed that off as not an important factor. I had a similar instance in Brooklyn.

Looking at the form...yes, it looks sexist to me. I'm guessing the person creating the form just played off a common stereotype of moms doing that sort of thing.

I notice the numbers myself at times...I was at the school for Halloween helping my 8-year old with her costume. I saw lots of moms there, but I seemed to be the only dad (and dressed in full motorcycle leathers for my costume ).

Nevertheless, "market share" doesn't preclude the form from being sexist. Imagine if mortgage loan forms said "his income"...which I think many of them did up through about the '70's until people stood up and said this is wrong.