The impact of an educational intervention on parents’ decisions to vaccinate their <60-monthold children against influenza

Aery Choi, Dong Ho Kim, Yun Kyung Kim, Byung Wook Eun, Dae Sun Jo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: Seasonal influenza can be prevented by vaccination. Disease prevention in children aged <60 months is of particular importance because of the associated familial and societal burden. Considering that caretakers make the decision to vaccinate their children, the identification of drivers and barriers to vaccination is essential to increase influenza vaccination coverage. Methods: A total of 639 parents participated in the pre- and posteducational survey and 450 parents participated in the study via telephone interviews. The participating parents were asked to rank their agreement with each statement of the survey questionnaire on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), and the scores between pre- and postintervention were compared. Results: Before the educational intervention, 105 out of 639 participants reported not to agree to vaccinate their children against influenza. After the intervention, 46 out of the 105 parents changed their opinions about childhood vaccination. The physicians’ recommendation received the highest agreement score and was the most important driver to vaccination, whereas the cost of vaccination was the strongest factor for not vaccinating children. In general, the participants significantly changed the agreement scores between pre- and postintervention. However, the unfavorable opinions about vaccination and the convenience of receiving the influenza vaccine did not change significantly. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that a specific educational intervention involving caregivers is very effective in increasing the influenza vaccination coverage of children aged less than 60 months.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)254-260
Number of pages7
JournalKorean Journal of Pediatrics
Volume60
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was supported by a grant from the TransgovernmentalEnterprise for Pandemic Influenza in Korea (TEPIK), which is a part of the Korea Healthcare Technology Research and Development Project developed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare‚ MOHW Republic of Korea (grant number: A103001

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 by The Korean Pediatric Society.

Keywords

  • Decision
  • Educational intervention
  • Influenza
  • Influenza vaccine
  • Parents

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Pediatrics

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