Reasons Why Women Accept or Reject the Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine (TIV) During Pregnancy

Abstract

The aim of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the reasons why pregnant women accept or reject the seasonal influenza vaccine. The qualitative descriptive design used a face-to-face semi-structured interview format. Sixty pregnant and postpartum women at two hospitals in the Northeastern United States participated. Content analysis was the inductive method used to code the data and identify emergent themes. Six themes emerged from the data: differing degrees of influence affect action to vaccinate; two-for-one benefit is a pivotal piece of knowledge that influences future vaccination; fear if I do (vaccinate), fear if I don't; women who verbalize 'no need' for the vaccine also fear the vaccine; a conveniently located venue for vaccination reduces barriers to uptake; H1N1-a benefit and barrier to the seasonal vaccine. Our study supports previous findings and reveals a deeper understanding and interpretation of the behavior and decision-making to accept or reject the influenza vaccine. Understanding the reasons behind the behavior of vaccine rejection gives us the chance to change it.

Increased awareness and health care provider endorsement is required to encourage pregnant women to be vaccinated

“…26 However, much less is known about how pregnant women make decisions about maternal immunization including how they weigh benefits and risks and whether particular factors are important under particular conditions. Two recent qualitative studies [27][28][29] have found similar themes to those identified from surveys: importance of HCP recommendation and trusting relationships, perceptions of risk and susceptibility regarding vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases, and lack of awareness and knowledge about the availability of maternal immunizations. However, both also highlight something not identified from the surveys or from the wider immunization decision literature; the challenge of balancing the risks and benefits to both the mother and the unborn baby in making the decision to vaccinate.…”

“…The HBM has been used previously to examine vaccine decisionmaking. 24,28,40,41 The study was approved by the Women's and Children's Health Network (WCHN) Human Research Ethics Committee.…”

Maintaining the momentum: Key factors influencing acceptance of influenza vaccination among pregnant women following the H1N1 pandemic

“…In our survey, both cohorts reported not needing the vaccine as a reason for not getting it, similar to other reports, in which a frequently cited reason by pregnant women for declining immunization was the belief that the threat was not real, and that the vaccine was unnecessary. 19,28 The study had potential limitations. Ours was a relatively small sample of mostly young, white, well-educated women, which is likely not representative of the general population of pregnant women.…”

Maternal immunization: where are we now and how to move forward?

“…50% in the US, 40À65% in the UK, <25% in other European countries or <2% in Hong Kong), with some exceptions such as in Argentina and Brazil ($95%) [71,[73][74][75][76]. These low coverage rates are due to multiple reasons such as concerns about vaccine safety, low perceived risk of influenza infection and lack of awareness and of recommendations by healthcare professionals [77,78].…”