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Do beliefs of inner-city parents about disease and vaccine risks affect immunization?
Jeanette M Trauth1, Richard K Zimmerman, Donald Musa
1Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. Trauth@pitt.edu
Insights
Low-income parents
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Public Health
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Inner-city, low-income populations face unique challenges in accessing healthcare.
- Understanding parental perceptions of childhood diseases and prevention is crucial for improving vaccination rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how low-income, inner-city parents perceive childhood diseases and prevention strategies.
- To determine the impact of these perceptions on delayed vaccine administration in preschool children.
Main Methods:
- Telephone interviews and vaccine record reviews were conducted with parents of children aged 0-4 years in Pittsburgh, PA.
- Participants were recruited from four inner-city primary care clinics serving medically assisted populations.
- Key outcome measures included delays in diphtheria, tetanus toxoids, and pertussis (DTP) and polio vaccines, and incomplete measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination by 19 months.
Main Results:
- 483 parents participated in the study.
- Significant delays were observed: 15% late for the first DTP, 52% for the third DTP.
- 40% of children had not received the recommended DTP, polio, and MMR doses by 19 months.
Conclusions:
- Parental beliefs about vaccine side effects and socioeconomic factors, such as family size and race, are associated with delayed immunizations.
- Both life circumstances and cognitive factors contribute to late vaccine receipt among preschool children in inner-city settings.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to understand how low income, inner-city parents of preschool children think about childhood diseases and prevention and the impact that this has on late receipt of vaccines.
Methods:
Parents of all children born between January 1, 1991, and May 31, 1995, whose child received medical assistance and health care at one of four inner-city, primary care clinics in Pittsburgh, PA, completed a telephone interview and gave consent for a vaccine record review. The main outcome measures were lateness for first and third diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis vaccines (DTP) and not receiving at least four DTP, three polio virus containing and one measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) doses by 19 months.
Results:
A total of 483 parents participated. Fifteen percent of children were late for the first DTP, 52% for the third DTP, and 40% had not received at least four DTP, three polio and one MMR by 19 months of age. Statistically significant factors associated with lateness at 19 months included: having three or more children, having two children, beliefs regarding the severity of immunization side effects, and being African American.
Conclusions:
The results of this study indicate that a combination of life circumstances, as well as cognitive factors were associated with late immunization.
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