Changing attitudes to childhood immunisation in English parents

Helen Campbell; Angela Edwards; Louise Letley; Helen Bedford; Mary Ramsay; Joanne Yarwood

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.089

Changing attitudes to childhood immunisation in English parents

Vaccine. 2017 May 19;35(22):2979-2985. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.089. Epub 2017 Apr 23.

Authors

Helen Campbell¹, Angela Edwards², Louise Letley², Helen Bedford³, Mary Ramsay⁴, Joanne Yarwood²

Affiliations

¹ Immunisation, Hepatitis & Blood Safety Department, National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, United Kingdom. Electronic address: helen.campbell@phe.gov.uk.
² Immunisation, Hepatitis & Blood Safety Dept., National Infection Service, Public Health England, Wellington House, 133-155 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8UG, United Kingdom.
³ UCL Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom.
⁴ Immunisation, Hepatitis & Blood Safety Department, National Infection Service, Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, United Kingdom.

PMID: 28442229
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.089

Abstract

Objectives: We undertook a national survey of parental attitudes to childhood vaccinations and compared results with those in earlier comparable surveys covering a 10year period.

Methods: We randomly selected 275 nationally representative sampling locations in England. Interviewers identified eligible primary care givers (referred to as parents) of children aged from 2months to <5years and conducted home-based interviews between January and April 2015. We aimed to recruit 1000 parents of children aged 0-2years and 1000 of children aged 3-4years. The questionnaire covered all aspects of the immunisation process, vaccines administered in pregnancy and from infancy to pre-school with a maximum of 86 mixed questions.

Results: Interviews were completed with 1792 parents of whom 1130 had children aged 0-2years and 999 had children aged 3-4years; 337 had children of both ages. The findings showed that confidence in and acceptance of the vaccination programme was high. Only 2% of parents reported refusing vaccination whilst 90% reported vaccinating their children automatically when due. Almost all parents (97%) had access to the internet and 34% consulted web-based resources for information on vaccination. Parents who used chat rooms or discussion forums for this purpose were significantly more likely to say they had seen something that would make them doubt having their child(ren) immunised (31% compared to 8% amongst all parents). Health professionals and the NHS were seen as the most trusted source of advice on immunisation (90% agreed/strongly agreed with each). Very few parents did not trust these sources (4% and 3% disagreed, respectively).

Conclusions: Health professionals remain extremely important in communicating information about vaccination and are highly trusted by parents; a trust that has increased in recent years. Despite most parents seeking information on the Internet, trust in and advice from health care professionals appeared to be key factors influencing parental decisions.

Keywords: Acceptability; Childhood; Confidence; Immunisation; Trust; Vaccination.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Child, Preschool
England
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / ethnology*
Health Personnel
Humans
Immunization / psychology*
Immunization Programs
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Internet
Male
Parents / psychology*
Pregnancy
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult