Parental Perceptions Influence Uptake of the Flu Vaccine in Children
Parental perceptions regarding the side effects, safety, and efficacy of the child influenza vaccine strongly influence whether children will receive the vaccination, according to a new study from researchers in the United Kingdom.
This is the first study to investigate whether parental attitudes toward the child influenza vaccine influence uptake and perceived side effects of the vaccine. In addition, the researchers examined whether uptake and parental perception were associated with the intention to vaccinate children during the 2016-2017 flu season.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT
CDC: Options For Calculating Flu Vaccine Dosage
Children's Seasonal Flu Vaccine Regimen Updated
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The researchers used a cross-sectional online survey to collect data on 1001 parents or guardians of children between ages 2 and 7 years. Questions in the survey included whether the child was vaccinated during the 2015-2016 flu season, the main reasons for vaccinating or not vaccinating the child, whether a vaccinated child experienced any of the 23 symptoms listed in the questionnaire that were caused by the vaccine, and the severity of the symptoms.
For the 2015-2016 flu season, 529 participants (52.8%) reported vaccinating their child, 441 (44.1%) reported not vaccinating their child, and 34 (3.4%) reported not knowing if their child was vaccinated. More than 70% of participants reported intending to vaccinate their child for the 2016-2017 flu season.
The most common reason participants reported for vaccinating their child was to protect the child from influenza (61.2%). The positive factors strongly associated with uptake of the influenza vaccine were that children had previously received the vaccination, that participants perceived the vaccine to be effective, and that participants perceived their child to be susceptible to influenza.
In addition, 43.2% of participants who did not vaccinate their child reported that they believed their child was healthy and did not worry about their child contracting influenza. The factors associated with a lower likelihood of vaccination were parental perception that the vaccine is unsafe, that the vaccine causes short-term side effects or long-term health problems, and that a yearly vaccine may overload the immune system.
Participants who perceived side effects after their child was vaccinated in 2015-2016 reported that they were less likely to vaccinate their child the following year. In addition, the researchers found that side effects were more likely reported in the first-born child, by participants who knew a child who experienced side effects, by participants who believed the vaccine would interact with their child’s current medication, and by participants who believed the vaccine caused short-term side effects.
“Although a causal link cannot definitively be established, our data are consistent with the theory that past behavior, attitudes, and social influences affect both uptake and side-effect perception. Terminology currently used to describe vaccine side-effects in communications leads people to estimate a higher incidence of side-effects. Efforts to improve uptake should now focus on tackling these perceptions,” the researchers concluded.
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Smith LE, Webster RK, Weinman J, Amlôt R, Yiend J, Rubin GJ. Psychological factors associated with uptake of the childhood influenza vaccine and perception of post-vaccination side-effects: a cross-sectional survey in England [published online March 8, 2017]. Vaccine. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.02.031.