267846 Childhood influenza vaccination rates during 2009-2010 season: The impact of parental beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 1:15 PM - 1:30 PM

Lauren Fortenberry, MPH, MAEd , Population Health Sciences Department, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA
Susan Marmagas, MPH , Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Francois Elvinger, Dr med vet, PhD , Population Health Sciences Department, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Bernice Hausman, PhD , Department of English, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Clare Dannenberg, PhD , Department of English, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Heidi Lawrence, MA , Rhetoric and Writing, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Stacy Boyer, MS , Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA
Elizabeth Anthony, MA , Rhetoric and Society, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
     
Influenza is an important research topic as new strains and epidemiological trends have heightened national attention. Few investigations, however, have examined how parents' attitudes and beliefs influenced their decision as to whether or not to vaccinate their children against seasonal flu and H1N1 viruses during the 2009-10 season. Partnering with the Cumberland Plateau Health District, a multidisciplinary team from Virginia Tech distributed surveys to the parents of 119 elementary-aged children from two schools with different H1N1 2009-10 vaccination rates. Analyses of the data from the 86 participating households revealed that there is a significant difference between the seasonal flu 2009-10 and H1N1 2009-10 vaccination rates (p=0.038); employed parents were less likely to have their children vaccinated against H1N1 2009-10 than unemployed parents (p=0.023); primary caregivers who were parents were less likely to vaccinate their children against seasonal flu 2009-10 than other caregivers (p=0.052); and parents who understood that two different vaccinations existed during the 2009-10 season were more likely to vaccinate their children against seasonal flu 2009-10 (p=0.0092) and H1N1 2009-10 (p=0.0291). These findings suggest that socioeconomic and caregiver characteristics as well as intentional parental decision-making play roles in influencing childhood influenza vaccination rates.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
1. Compare the differences between seasonal flu 2009-10, seasonal flu 2010-11, and H1N1 2009-10 vaccination rates for elementary-aged students within School A and School B. 2. Explain the relationship between parental socioeconomic characteristics and H1N1 2009-10 vaccination uptake for children in both schools. 3. Explain the relationship between caregiver characteristics and seasonal flu 2009-10 vaccination uptake for children in both schools. 4. Explain the relationship between the parental knowledge of two flu vaccines during the 2009-10 season and seasonal flu 2009-10 and H1N1 2009-10 vaccination uptake for children in both schools. 5. Describe the influence of access and intentional motives on parental H1N1 2009-10 child vaccination decisions.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was an active contributor in every step of the study. I created the parent survey, collected and analyzed survey data, handled all the logistics with the two schools on survey and incentive distribution, and composed several pieces of the final report.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4212.0: Pediatric and Adolescent Epidemiology 2