Parental Perspectives on Influenza Immunization of Children Aged 6 to 23 Months

Background For the first time, in 2002, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices encouraged the vaccination of healthy children 6 to 23 months against influenza, whenever feasible. Participating inner-city health centers designed interventions to introduce influenza vaccination among this group of children. The study was designed to assess parents’ attitudes toward the vaccine. Methods Following the 2002–2003 influenza vaccination season, parents were surveyed to identify barriers to and facilitators of influenza vaccination. A low-literacy level, 19-question survey was mailed to parents in three waves, 4 weeks apart. A subset of children had medical record data available to confirm vaccination status. Measures of validity were calculated. This paper focused only on the children whose parent-reported vaccination status was concordant with that reported in medical records (n=193). Associations of responses to vaccination status were calculated in 2004, using chi-square and logistic regression procedures. Results Sensitivity was 85.7% and specificity was 66% (κ=0.50), assessing the ability of parents to recall receipt or nonreceipt of influenza vaccine. The most important factors related to immunization of healthy infants were perceived doctor’s recommendation (odds ratio [OR]=5.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.4–12.3; p<0.001) and belief that getting an influenza shot is a smart idea (OR=3.5; 95% CI=1.3–8.9; p<0.01) for those with medical record–confirmed vaccination status. Conclusions A clear message that the doctor recommends influenza vaccination for a child is an important factor for ensuring vaccination, and may foster the idea that vaccination is “smart.”