TY - JOUR
T1 - Parental anxiety and pediatric vaccine refusal in a US national sample of parents
AU - Rodriguez, Violeta J.
AU - Kozlova, Sofia
AU - LaBarrie, Dominique L.
AU - Liu, Qimin
N1 - Violeta J. Rodriguez’s work on this study was supported by a Ford Foundation Fellowship, administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, a PEO Scholar Award from the PEO Sisterhood, and NIMH R36MH127838. The study was funded by NIMH R36MH127838. The other authors received no external funding.
PY - 2023/11/22
Y1 - 2023/11/22
N2 - Objectives: Understanding vaccine hesitancy among parents is of emerging interest and of rising importance for promoting vaccine uptake to prevent pediatric illness. Here, we examine associations between pediatric vaccine refusal and parental symptoms of anxiety. Methods: Our cross-sectional survey assessed pediatric vaccine refusal in 1699 parents in a US national sample. Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale, and symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7). Results: The prevalence of pediatric vaccine refusal was 15.5 %. Parent symptoms of anxiety were related to vaccine refusal (OR = 1.07 [1.03, 1.10]). Mild (1.88 [1.39, 2.54], p <.001) and clinically significant (2.14 [1.39, 3.31], p <.001) symptoms of anxiety were also related to pediatric vaccine refusal. Parental anxiety was also associated with perceived risks of vaccines and reduced confidence. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need to consider parental anxiety in the development of public health interventions that address substandard pediatric vaccine uptake.
AB - Objectives: Understanding vaccine hesitancy among parents is of emerging interest and of rising importance for promoting vaccine uptake to prevent pediatric illness. Here, we examine associations between pediatric vaccine refusal and parental symptoms of anxiety. Methods: Our cross-sectional survey assessed pediatric vaccine refusal in 1699 parents in a US national sample. Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale, and symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7). Results: The prevalence of pediatric vaccine refusal was 15.5 %. Parent symptoms of anxiety were related to vaccine refusal (OR = 1.07 [1.03, 1.10]). Mild (1.88 [1.39, 2.54], p <.001) and clinically significant (2.14 [1.39, 3.31], p <.001) symptoms of anxiety were also related to pediatric vaccine refusal. Parental anxiety was also associated with perceived risks of vaccines and reduced confidence. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need to consider parental anxiety in the development of public health interventions that address substandard pediatric vaccine uptake.
KW - Pediatrics
KW - Vaccine hesitancy
KW - Vaccine refusal
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U2 - 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.10.015
DO - 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.10.015
M3 - Article
C2 - 37833125
AN - SCOPUS:85173823690
SN - 0264-410X
VL - 41
SP - 7072
EP - 7075
JO - Vaccine
JF - Vaccine
IS - 48
ER -