Potential determinants of parental hesitancy to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 infection : a cross-sectional investigation

© 2023. The Author(s)..

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination hesitancy has emerged as a substantial concern among the adult population globally. However, limited evidence is available about parental hesitancy to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 within the Pakistani context. Thus, the present investigation aimed to assess parental attitudes, perceptions, and willingness regarding vaccination hesitancy and associated predictors of getting their children vaccinated against COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional population-based, self-administered online questionnaire in Punjab, Pakistan, on randomly selected parents between October 2022 and February 2023. The data were collected based on socio-demographics, attitudes, perceptions, and willingness of parents regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy for their children. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were estimated to identify the predictors of vaccine hesitancy. The findings demonstrated that among 1,478 participants, a total of 40% believed that the COVID-19 vaccine may pose a greater risk to children than adults, while 38% exhibited no concerns. Around 13% of children were not vaccinated in our study sample. More than half expressed hesitancy toward vaccination, and only 35.25% were inclined to get their children vaccinated in our study sample. In addition, only 16% of the parents believed that the COVID-19 vaccination may cause an alteration in their children's DNA. A similar proportion of parents were aware of the significance of getting their children vaccinated and expressed their willingness to vaccinate their children to prevent the COVID-19 infection. However, a higher odds ratio was observed in females with a higher educational background and those in the healthcare profession. In conclusion, healthcare awareness-supporting programs for educating parents should be designed and implemented. These insights might aid in the development of strategies to eradicate barriers in existing coronavirus vaccination programs and may vaccinate a larger child population to reduce the adverse consequences of the pandemic.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:13

Enthalten in:

Scientific reports - 13(2023), 1 vom: 13. Dez., Seite 22161

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Rehman, Shazia [VerfasserIn]
Rehman, Nadia [VerfasserIn]
Li, Zexuan [VerfasserIn]
Zhang, Yan [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

COVID-19 Vaccines
Journal Article

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 16.12.2023

Date Revised 27.12.2023

published: Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1038/s41598-023-47863-6

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM365835277