Child immunization is the most effective strategy to alleviate childhood illnesses and diseases, yet many mothers do not have their children inoculated on time. In Hawaii, Filipinos were less likely to have complete vaccination by the age of 24 months. Psychological and perceptual reasons are considerable determinants of parental decisions to comply to immunization.
This study assessed the relationship of psychosocial and demographic variables to immunization. Variables included: the value of children, perceived access to health services, family support, health providers, baby's health, type of insurance, the number of children in the family, and the mother's ethnic-cultural identification. It was expected that children were more likely to complete scheduled inoculations when the mothers were sentimental about children, had favorable perceptions of their health providers, family members, and access to health care, had several children, were "culturally less Filipino", had more stable health insurance coverage, and perceived their babies as sickly.
Ninety one mothers of Filipino ancestry in Hawaii participated in the study. They filled out a questionnaire and were telephone interviewed about reasons for any delays. The results showed that children were more likely to complete their immunizations when their mothers were sentimental about children (p<.01), had stable insurance coverage (p<.01), and had several children (p<.05). The interviews revealed the need for better transportation services, appointment options, and simpler insurance paper work.
Keywords: Immunizations, Child Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.