End of Pandemic Parental Hesitancy Towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-sectional Survey at Two Lebanese Tertiary Hospitals
Abstract Background This observational prospective cross-sectional study was conducted during the last 4 months of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine whether parental hesitancy to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 had improved compared to earlier studies in other countries showing high level...
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44197-025-00364-3 |
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| author | Sabine Shehab Lina Anouti Celina F. Boutros Christelle Radi Silma El Baasiri Arabia Badih Rawan Korman Marwa El Masri Joudie Alwan Maha Monzer Yara Bitar Mona Kassem Mayse Naser Yara Salameh Sarah Khafaja Murielle Bou Ghosn Dany Al Hamod Sarah Ghadban Soha Ghanem Ghassan S. Dbaibo |
| author_facet | Sabine Shehab Lina Anouti Celina F. Boutros Christelle Radi Silma El Baasiri Arabia Badih Rawan Korman Marwa El Masri Joudie Alwan Maha Monzer Yara Bitar Mona Kassem Mayse Naser Yara Salameh Sarah Khafaja Murielle Bou Ghosn Dany Al Hamod Sarah Ghadban Soha Ghanem Ghassan S. Dbaibo |
| author_sort | Sabine Shehab |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background This observational prospective cross-sectional study was conducted during the last 4 months of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine whether parental hesitancy to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 had improved compared to earlier studies in other countries showing high levels of hesitancy. Methods: Parents were surveyed from January 4 until May 16, 2023, at two tertiary medical centers in Beirut, the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) and the Saint George Hospital University Medical Center (SGHUMC). Results: The study enrolled 950 participants, predominantly mothers (79.6%) aged 30–49 (79%), highly educated parents (69.8% of mothers and 62.2% of fathers were university graduates). Although routine childhood vaccinations received remarkable acceptance (98.3%), there was considerable hesitancy towards pediatric COVID-19 (56.4%). Only 9.4% had vaccinated all eligible children. The main parental concern was the vaccine’s safety and perceived lack of testing (p < 0.001). Other factors were parental gender, vaccination status, and children’s age. In the adjusted model, mothers had a higher rate of vaccine acceptance (AOR: 1.746 [1.059–2.878], p = 0.029). Similarly, parents vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccine (AOR: 2.703, p < 0.001) and parents of children aged 12–17 (AOR: 4.450, p < 0.001) had more vaccine acceptance. Conclusion: This study’s findings indicate a persistently high level of hesitancy for pediatric COVID-19 vaccination despite more than two years of positive global experience with the vaccine. Raising awareness about the safety and effectiveness of pediatric COVID-19 vaccination would address this hesitancy and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on children’s health and well-being. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-55a3bc8aa3994a11aa024a90d3dd0865 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2210-6014 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-55a3bc8aa3994a11aa024a90d3dd08652025-02-09T12:09:48ZengSpringerJournal of Epidemiology and Global Health2210-60142025-02-0115111410.1007/s44197-025-00364-3End of Pandemic Parental Hesitancy Towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-sectional Survey at Two Lebanese Tertiary HospitalsSabine Shehab0Lina Anouti1Celina F. Boutros2Christelle Radi3Silma El Baasiri4Arabia Badih5Rawan Korman6Marwa El Masri7Joudie Alwan8Maha Monzer9Yara Bitar10Mona Kassem11Mayse Naser12Yara Salameh13Sarah Khafaja14Murielle Bou Ghosn15Dany Al Hamod16Sarah Ghadban17Soha Ghanem18Ghassan S. Dbaibo19Faculty of Medicine, American University of BeirutFaculty of Health Sciences, American University of BeirutCenter for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of BeirutFaculty of Medicine, American University of BeirutFaculty of Medicine, American University of BeirutDepartment of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical CenterCenter for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of BeirutDepartment of Pediatrics, Saint George Hospital University Medical CenterDepartment of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical CenterDepartment of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical CenterDepartment of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical CenterDepartment of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical CenterCenter for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of BeirutCenter for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of BeirutCenter for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of BeirutFaculty of Medicine, University of BalamandDepartment of Pediatrics, Saint George Hospital University Medical CenterDepartment of Pediatrics, Saint George Hospital University Medical CenterDepartment of Pediatrics, Saint George Hospital University Medical CenterCenter for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of BeirutAbstract Background This observational prospective cross-sectional study was conducted during the last 4 months of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine whether parental hesitancy to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 had improved compared to earlier studies in other countries showing high levels of hesitancy. Methods: Parents were surveyed from January 4 until May 16, 2023, at two tertiary medical centers in Beirut, the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) and the Saint George Hospital University Medical Center (SGHUMC). Results: The study enrolled 950 participants, predominantly mothers (79.6%) aged 30–49 (79%), highly educated parents (69.8% of mothers and 62.2% of fathers were university graduates). Although routine childhood vaccinations received remarkable acceptance (98.3%), there was considerable hesitancy towards pediatric COVID-19 (56.4%). Only 9.4% had vaccinated all eligible children. The main parental concern was the vaccine’s safety and perceived lack of testing (p < 0.001). Other factors were parental gender, vaccination status, and children’s age. In the adjusted model, mothers had a higher rate of vaccine acceptance (AOR: 1.746 [1.059–2.878], p = 0.029). Similarly, parents vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccine (AOR: 2.703, p < 0.001) and parents of children aged 12–17 (AOR: 4.450, p < 0.001) had more vaccine acceptance. Conclusion: This study’s findings indicate a persistently high level of hesitancy for pediatric COVID-19 vaccination despite more than two years of positive global experience with the vaccine. Raising awareness about the safety and effectiveness of pediatric COVID-19 vaccination would address this hesitancy and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on children’s health and well-being.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44197-025-00364-3COVID-19VaccinationParentsChildrenLebanon |
| spellingShingle | Sabine Shehab Lina Anouti Celina F. Boutros Christelle Radi Silma El Baasiri Arabia Badih Rawan Korman Marwa El Masri Joudie Alwan Maha Monzer Yara Bitar Mona Kassem Mayse Naser Yara Salameh Sarah Khafaja Murielle Bou Ghosn Dany Al Hamod Sarah Ghadban Soha Ghanem Ghassan S. Dbaibo End of Pandemic Parental Hesitancy Towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-sectional Survey at Two Lebanese Tertiary Hospitals Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health COVID-19 Vaccination Parents Children Lebanon |
| title | End of Pandemic Parental Hesitancy Towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-sectional Survey at Two Lebanese Tertiary Hospitals |
| title_full | End of Pandemic Parental Hesitancy Towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-sectional Survey at Two Lebanese Tertiary Hospitals |
| title_fullStr | End of Pandemic Parental Hesitancy Towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-sectional Survey at Two Lebanese Tertiary Hospitals |
| title_full_unstemmed | End of Pandemic Parental Hesitancy Towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-sectional Survey at Two Lebanese Tertiary Hospitals |
| title_short | End of Pandemic Parental Hesitancy Towards Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-sectional Survey at Two Lebanese Tertiary Hospitals |
| title_sort | end of pandemic parental hesitancy towards pediatric covid 19 vaccination a cross sectional survey at two lebanese tertiary hospitals |
| topic | COVID-19 Vaccination Parents Children Lebanon |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44197-025-00364-3 |
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