Jennifer Bradshaw, Amanda Brzozowski, Priya Katti, Olivia Chapman, Audrey Pham, Andrew Torgerson, Ethan Wankum, Aimee Snavely, Carole R Baskin
{"title":"Perspectives of Parents, School Nurses, and Pediatricians on Vaccine Hesitancy in St Louis County, Missouri.","authors":"Jennifer Bradshaw, Amanda Brzozowski, Priya Katti, Olivia Chapman, Audrey Pham, Andrew Torgerson, Ethan Wankum, Aimee Snavely, Carole R Baskin","doi":"10.1177/00333549241297685","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To gather perspectives on childhood vaccination and vaccine hesitancy, the Saint Louis County Department of Public Health (DPH) surveyed parents seeking nonmedical exemptions, conducted focus groups of school nurses, and interviewed pediatricians.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We distributed exemption forms and voluntary questionnaires to parents in St Louis County who were seeking nonmedical exemptions for their school-aged children at any DPH clinic from August 2019 through December 2022. We conducted and recorded four 75- to 90-minute focus groups of 11 school nurses in groups of 2 or 3 nurses in September 2022. We conducted and recorded interviews of 8 pediatricians in March 2023. We calculated descriptive statistics, transcribed focus group discussions and interviews, and performed qualitative coding.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We collected 1871 exemption forms. The median age of children (n = 1854) was 6 years. Of the 10 vaccines included in the exemption list, the percentage of exclusions ranged from 91.2% for meningococcal conjugate to 88.7% for hepatitis A. We identified 4 themes in the focus groups: recent changes in vaccine compliance, hesitancy and barriers, services addressing hesitancy and barriers, and future requests for DPH. Analysis of pediatrician interviews revealed themes relating to vaccine information, community efforts, and physician decision-making.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study highlights the need for a multidisciplinary approach to vaccine hesitancy in St Louis County. Future interventions need to focus on beliefs and behavioral change related to vaccines and not just the economics and accessibility of vaccines.</p>","PeriodicalId":20793,"journal":{"name":"Public Health Reports","volume":" ","pages":"333549241297685"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Public Health Reports","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549241297685","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: To gather perspectives on childhood vaccination and vaccine hesitancy, the Saint Louis County Department of Public Health (DPH) surveyed parents seeking nonmedical exemptions, conducted focus groups of school nurses, and interviewed pediatricians.
Methods: We distributed exemption forms and voluntary questionnaires to parents in St Louis County who were seeking nonmedical exemptions for their school-aged children at any DPH clinic from August 2019 through December 2022. We conducted and recorded four 75- to 90-minute focus groups of 11 school nurses in groups of 2 or 3 nurses in September 2022. We conducted and recorded interviews of 8 pediatricians in March 2023. We calculated descriptive statistics, transcribed focus group discussions and interviews, and performed qualitative coding.
Results: We collected 1871 exemption forms. The median age of children (n = 1854) was 6 years. Of the 10 vaccines included in the exemption list, the percentage of exclusions ranged from 91.2% for meningococcal conjugate to 88.7% for hepatitis A. We identified 4 themes in the focus groups: recent changes in vaccine compliance, hesitancy and barriers, services addressing hesitancy and barriers, and future requests for DPH. Analysis of pediatrician interviews revealed themes relating to vaccine information, community efforts, and physician decision-making.
Conclusions: This study highlights the need for a multidisciplinary approach to vaccine hesitancy in St Louis County. Future interventions need to focus on beliefs and behavioral change related to vaccines and not just the economics and accessibility of vaccines.
期刊介绍：
Public Health Reports is the official journal of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service and has been published since 1878. It is published bimonthly, plus supplement issues, through an official agreement with the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. The journal is peer-reviewed and publishes original research and commentaries in the areas of public health practice and methodology, original research, public health law, and public health schools and teaching. Issues contain regular commentaries by the U.S. Surgeon General and executives of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health.
The journal focuses upon such topics as tobacco control, teenage violence, occupational disease and injury, immunization, drug policy, lead screening, health disparities, and many other key and emerging public health issues. In addition to the six regular issues, PHR produces supplemental issues approximately 2-5 times per year which focus on specific topics that are of particular interest to our readership. The journal''s contributors are on the front line of public health and they present their work in a readable and accessible format.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
