Changes in rural parents' vaccination-related attitudes and intention to vaccinate middle and high school children against influenza following influenza vaccination intervention

Background: The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently recommended that annual influenza vaccination be administered to children aged 5–18 years. Parental attitudes toward influenza vaccination play a key role in immunization outcomes as parental consent to vaccinate is required. This study examined changes in influenza vaccination attitudes and intentions among parents participating in school-based influenza vaccination intervention. Methods: Participants were drawn from three counties participating in a school-based influenza vaccination intervention in rural Georgia (baseline N=324; follow-up N=328). Data were collected pre- and post-intervention from phone surveys of parents' with children attending middle- and high-school. Attitudes, beliefs, vaccination history, and intention to vaccinate were assessed. ANOVAs were conducted to examine change in study variables by county and overtime. Results: Parents in the two intervention counties self-reported a significant increase post-intervention in whether their child had “ever” received an influenza vaccination (p = .04 and .001) compared to the control county (p = .49). Intervention parents also reported a significant increase in intention to vaccinate in the coming year (p = .05 and .01) compared to the control county (p = .44), and significant reductions in vaccination-related barriers over time in comparison to the control county, F(2,394) =6.45, p = .002. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a school-based influenza vaccination intervention targeting parents and teens may influence influenza vaccination in rural communities. Future influenza vaccination efforts geared toward the parents of rural middle- and high-school students may benefit from addressing barriers and benefits of influenza vaccination.