Department of General Practice, Monash University, Building 1, 270 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill, VIC 3168, Australia.
School of Science, RMIT University, Building 223, Level 1, Bundoora Campus, Plenty Road, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia.
Vaccine. 2018 Feb 1;36(6):859-865. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.12.066. Epub 2018 Jan 5.
Influenza vaccination has been shown to be safe and effective against influenza and in the prevention of complicating secondary respiratory illnesses. However, its uptake in young children remains low. This study explored the views, attitudes and practices of parents and primary care providers (PCPs) on their knowledge and acceptance of influenza vaccination in children under 5.
Using a cross-sectional qualitative research design, we conducted 30 in-depth interviews with PCPs (i.e., general practitioners, practice nurses, maternal and child health nurses, and pharmacists) and five focus groups with parents (n = 50) between June 2014 and July 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Data were thematically analysed.
Parents thought the vaccine could cause influenza, and influenza vaccination was not necessary for their children as they needed to build their own 'immunity'. Parents said that they would consider vaccinating their children if recommended by their GP and if the influenza vaccine was part of the immunisation schedule. PCPs also expressed concerns regarding the efficacy of the vaccine as well as out-of-pocket costs incurred by families, and uncertainty regarding the mortality and morbidity of influenza in otherwise healthy children. However, they said they would recommend the vaccine to high-risk groups (e.g. children with chronic disease(s), and asthma).
Despite the established safety of influenza vaccines, barriers to uptake include concerns regarding the iatrogenic effects of vaccination, its administration schedule, and knowledge of influenza severity. Updated information on influenza and the efficacy of the vaccine, and incorporating influenza vaccination into the immunisation schedule may overcome some of these barriers to increase influenza vaccination in this vulnerable cohort.
流感疫苗已被证明在预防流感和继发性呼吸道疾病方面是安全有效的。然而，其在幼儿中的接种率仍然很低。本研究旨在探讨父母和初级保健提供者（PCP）对 5 岁以下儿童流感疫苗接种的知识和接受程度的看法、态度和做法。
本研究采用横断面定性研究设计，于 2014 年 6 月至 2015 年 7 月在澳大利亚墨尔本对 30 名 PCP（即全科医生、执业护士、母婴健康护士和药剂师）进行了 30 次深入访谈，并对 50 名父母进行了 5 次焦点小组访谈。对数据进行了主题分析。
父母认为疫苗会导致流感，且他们的孩子不需要接种流感疫苗，因为他们需要建立自己的“免疫力”。父母表示，如果他们的全科医生推荐，并且流感疫苗纳入免疫接种计划，他们会考虑为孩子接种疫苗。PCP 还对疫苗的疗效以及家庭的自付费用、流感在健康儿童中的死亡率和发病率的不确定性表示担忧。然而，他们表示会向高危人群（如患有慢性疾病的儿童和哮喘儿童）推荐该疫苗。
尽管流感疫苗的安全性已得到证实，但接种疫苗的障碍包括对疫苗接种的医源性影响、接种时间表以及对流感严重程度的认识。更新有关流感和疫苗疗效的信息，并将流感疫苗纳入免疫接种计划，可能会克服这些障碍，增加这一年龄段脆弱人群的流感疫苗接种率。
