1Klinik Kesihatan Batu 14 Puchong, Taman Puchong Utama, Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Med J Malaysia. 2023 Mar;78(2):177-183.
The use of the COVID-19 vaccine for all children below the age of 5 is expected to be available soon in Malaysia. Hence, this study aimed to assess parental hesitancy and perception of the vaccine.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among parents of children below 5 years of age, from July to September 2022 at two urban primary care clinics in the Cheras district of Kuala Lumpur. Hesitance and perception of the COVID-19 vaccine were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire.
A total of 219 completed entries were analysed. The rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitance for children below the age of 5 was 64.4% (n=141). Univariate analysis showed that vaccine hesitancy was associated with parental age and Muslim religion. The multivariate model showed that younger parents were more likely to be vaccine hesitant compared to older parents. A 1-year increase in parental age showed a 13% decrease in the odds of vaccine hesitancy (AOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.80-0.96). Muslim parents were also more likely to be vaccine hesitant compared to non-Muslim parents (AOR 2.46, 95% CI 1.26-4.79). Most parents perceived correctly that the vaccine can prevent complications and the spread of the disease. However, their main barriers to vaccination were concerns regarding side effects, safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
Our study found that parents have a high rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy for children younger than 5 years of age. Vaccine hesitancy was associated with parents' age and religion. Most of them perceived that the vaccine could prevent complications and the spread of COVID-19. Their main barriers towards vaccination were regarding vaccine side effects, safety and effectiveness.
预计马来西亚很快将为所有 5 岁以下儿童提供 COVID-19 疫苗。因此，本研究旨在评估父母对接种疫苗的犹豫和看法。
本横断面研究于 2022 年 7 月至 9 月在吉隆坡蕉赖区的两家城市初级保健诊所对 5 岁以下儿童的父母进行。使用自我管理问卷评估对 COVID-19 疫苗的犹豫和看法。
共分析了 219 份完整的条目。对 5 岁以下儿童的 COVID-19 疫苗犹豫率为 64.4%（n=141）。单变量分析显示，疫苗犹豫与父母年龄和穆斯林宗教有关。多变量模型显示，与年长的父母相比，年轻的父母更有可能对疫苗犹豫不决。父母年龄每增加 1 岁，对疫苗犹豫不决的几率就会降低 13%（OR 0.87，95%CI 0.80-0.96）。与非穆斯林父母相比，穆斯林父母也更有可能对疫苗犹豫不决（OR 2.46，95%CI 1.26-4.79）。大多数父母正确地认为疫苗可以预防并发症和疾病传播。然而，他们对接种疫苗的主要障碍是对疫苗副作用、安全性和有效性的担忧。
我们的研究发现，父母对接 5 岁以下儿童接种 COVID-19 疫苗的犹豫率很高。疫苗犹豫与父母的年龄和宗教有关。他们大多数人认为疫苗可以预防 COVID-19 并发症和传播。他们对接种疫苗的主要障碍是疫苗的副作用、安全性和有效性。
