Parental Attitudes and Factors Associated With Varicella Vaccination in Preschool and Schoolchildren in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study investigates parental attitudes and factors associated with varicella vaccination among preschool and schoolchildren prior to introduction of the vaccine into Hong Kong's universal Childhood Immunization Program.Fourteen kindergartens and 5 primary schools in Hong Kong were randomly selected in 2013. Parents of the students were invited to answer the self-administered questionnaires. Acquired information included demographic characteristics and socioeconomic statuses of families, children's history of chickenpox infection and vaccination, and reasons for getting children vaccinated. Logistic regression was applied to examine the factors associated with vaccination.From the 3484 completed questionnaires, the calculated rates of varicella infection and vaccination were 20.7% and 69.0%, respectively. Barriers to vaccination included parental uncertainties about vaccine effectiveness, lack of recommendation from the government, and concerns on adverse effects. Overall, 71.8%, 69.0%, and 45.7% of the parents rated family doctors, specialists, and the government, respectively, as very important motivators of vaccination. Higher parental educational level and family income, better perceived knowledge of varicella and chance of infection, discussion with a family doctor, and positive health belief towards vaccination were associated with vaccination (all P < 0.05).The rate of vaccination in Hong Kong was higher than that of some other countries that also did not include the vaccine in their routine immunization programs. More positive parental attitudes, higher socioeconomic status, and discussion with a family doctor are associated with greater vaccination rates. The important roles that health professionals and the government play in promoting varicella vaccination were emphasized.

Receiving early information and trusting Swedish child health centre nurses increased parents’ willingness to vaccinate against rotavirus infections

“…Longer education can be considered as a proxy of socioeconomic status, and both of these factors have been associated with high vaccine uptakes in previous studies from different parts of the world (23)(24)(25). Shorter duration of education was associated with insufficient information and knowledge about the rotavirus infection and about the rotavirus vaccine itself.…”

A descriptive qualitative study of perceptions of parents on their child's vaccination

“…A few impeding factors were identified in this study. The first impeding factor included parents' negative past experiences and concerns of risks and side effects of the vaccination (Tam et al., ; Tickner et al., ). Similar to previous studies (Delkhosh et al., ; Tickner et al., ), our participants shared that their negative personal past experiences or those of friends and relatives influenced their vaccination concerns.…”

Knowledge and awareness about chickenpox vaccine among parents with children under the age of 5 years in Kuwait health centers in 2014

“…New spots continue to appear for several days. [3,4] For most people, chickenpox is a mild disease. Still, it is better to get vaccinated.…”

“…We further tried to look for the main reasons behind this misperception; it was surprising that most parents had a poor knowledge about the seriousness of the disease. [4] This was because that 90% of parents knew that there was a vaccine but just 67% had taken action to children for vaccination [4] and another 48% of the parents did not vaccinate their children because they did not believe that chicken pox was a serious disease. [4] By looking further, we figured out that most parents did not have accesses to information, which shows that parents must have a motivator to take the vaccine.…”

“…[4] This was because that 90% of parents knew that there was a vaccine but just 67% had taken action to children for vaccination [4] and another 48% of the parents did not vaccinate their children because they did not believe that chicken pox was a serious disease. [4] By looking further, we figured out that most parents did not have accesses to information, which shows that parents must have a motivator to take the vaccine. [4] This made us wonder if there is another reason for this misperception about the seriousness of the disease.…”