Lind Candace, Russell Margaret L, Collins Ramona, MacDonald Judy, Frank Christine J, Davis Amy E
Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2015 Jan 22;15:24. doi: 10.1186/s12913-014-0663-5.
Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake among school-age children has been low, particularly among rural children, even in jurisdictions in Canada where this immunization is publicly funded. Providing this vaccination at school may be convenient for parents and might contribute to increased vaccine uptake, particularly among rural children. We explore the construct of convenience as an advantage of school based influenza vaccination. We also explore for rural urban differences in this construct.
Participants were parents of school-aged children from Alberta, Canada. We qualitatively analyzed focus group data from rural parents using a thematic template that emerged from prior work with urban parents. Both groups of parents had participated in focus groups to explore their perspectives on the acceptability of adding an annual influenza immunization to the immunization program that is currently delivered in Alberta schools. Data from within the theme of 'convenience' from both rural and urban parents were then further explored for sub-themes within convenience.
Data were obtained from nine rural and nine urban focus groups. The template of themes that had arisen from prior analysis of the urban data applied to the rural data. Convenience was a third level theme under Advantages. Five fourth level themes emerged from within convenience. Four of the five sub-themes were common to both rural and urban participants: reduction of parental burden to schedule, reduction in parental lost time, decrease in parental stress and increase in physical access points for influenza immunization. The fifth subtheme, increases temporal access to influenza immunization, emerged uniquely from the rural data.
Both rural and urban parents perceived that convenience would be an advantage of adding an annual influenza immunization to the vaccinations currently given to Alberta children at school. Improving temporal access to such immunization may be a more relevant aspect of convenience to rural than to urban parents.
学龄儿童的季节性流感疫苗接种率一直很低，尤其是农村儿童，即使在加拿大那些该疫苗接种由公共资金支持的地区也是如此。在学校提供这种疫苗接种对家长来说可能很方便，并且可能有助于提高疫苗接种率，特别是在农村儿童中。我们探讨了便利性这一概念作为在学校进行流感疫苗接种的一个优势。我们还探讨了农村和城市在这一概念上的差异。
参与者是来自加拿大艾伯塔省的学龄儿童的家长。我们使用从之前对城市家长的研究中得出的主题模板，对农村家长的焦点小组数据进行了定性分析。两组家长都参加了焦点小组，以探讨他们对在艾伯塔省学校目前实施的免疫计划中增加年度流感疫苗接种的可接受性的看法。然后，进一步探讨了农村和城市家长在“便利性”主题下的数据，以找出便利性中的子主题。
从9个农村焦点小组和9个城市焦点小组获得了数据。先前对城市数据的分析中出现的主题模板适用于农村数据。便利性是优势下的第三级主题。在便利性中出现了五个第四级主题。五个子主题中的四个在农村和城市参与者中是共同的：减轻家长安排时间的负担、减少家长的时间损失、减轻家长的压力以及增加流感疫苗接种的实际接种点。第五个子主题，增加流感疫苗接种的时间便利性，是农村数据中独有的。
农村和城市的家长都认为，在目前艾伯塔省学校给儿童接种的疫苗中增加年度流感疫苗接种具有便利性优势。改善这种疫苗接种的时间便利性对农村家长来说可能比对城市家长更重要。
