Parent and family characteristics associated with reported pediatric influenza vaccination in a sample of Canadian digital vaccination platform users. An exploratory, cross-sectional study in the 2018-2019 influenza season

Seasonal vaccination remains one of the best interventions to prevent morbidity and mortality from influenza in children. Understanding the characteristics of parents who vaccinate their children can inform communication strategies to encourage immunization. Using a cross-sectional study, we describ...

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Main Authors: Katherine Atkinson, Blaise Ntacyabukura, Steven Hawken, Ziad El-Khatib, Lucie Laflamme, Kumanan Wilson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2378580
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author Katherine Atkinson
Blaise Ntacyabukura
Steven Hawken
Ziad El-Khatib
Lucie Laflamme
Kumanan Wilson
author_facet Katherine Atkinson
Blaise Ntacyabukura
Steven Hawken
Ziad El-Khatib
Lucie Laflamme
Kumanan Wilson
author_sort Katherine Atkinson
collection DOAJ
description Seasonal vaccination remains one of the best interventions to prevent morbidity and mortality from influenza in children. Understanding the characteristics of parents who vaccinate their children can inform communication strategies to encourage immunization. Using a cross-sectional study, we described parental characteristics of people who reported vaccinating their children against influenza during 2018/2019 in a cohort of Canadian digital immunization record users. Data was collected from a free, Pan-Canadian digital vaccination tool, CANImmunize. Eligible accounts contained at least one parental and one “child/dependent” record. Each parental characteristic (gender, age, family size, etc) was tested for association with pediatric influenza vaccination, and a multivariate logistic regression model was fit. A total of 6,801 CANImmunize accounts met inclusion criteria. After collapsing the dataset, the final sample contained 11,381 unique dyads. Influenza vaccination was reported for 32.3% of the children and 42.0% of the parents. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, parents receiving the seasonal influenza vaccine were most strongly associated with reporting pediatric influenza vaccination (OR 17.05, 95% CI 15.08, 19.28). Having a larger family size and fewer transactions during the study period was associated with not reporting pediatric influenza vaccination. While there are several limitations to this large-scale study, these results can help inform future research in the area. Digital technologies may provide a unique and valuable source of vaccine coverage data and to explore associations between individual characteristics and immunization behavior. Policy makers considering digital messaging may want to tailor their efforts based on parental characteristics to further improve pediatric seasonal influenza vaccine uptake.
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spelling doaj-art-bf1f404995e54b2d898bf7c51e161ac22025-08-20T03:12:41ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHuman Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics2164-55152164-554X2024-12-0120110.1080/21645515.2024.2378580Parent and family characteristics associated with reported pediatric influenza vaccination in a sample of Canadian digital vaccination platform users. An exploratory, cross-sectional study in the 2018-2019 influenza seasonKatherine Atkinson0Blaise Ntacyabukura1Steven Hawken2Ziad El-Khatib3Lucie Laflamme4Kumanan Wilson5Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenFaculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, CanadaClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, CanadaDepartment of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, CanadaSeasonal vaccination remains one of the best interventions to prevent morbidity and mortality from influenza in children. Understanding the characteristics of parents who vaccinate their children can inform communication strategies to encourage immunization. Using a cross-sectional study, we described parental characteristics of people who reported vaccinating their children against influenza during 2018/2019 in a cohort of Canadian digital immunization record users. Data was collected from a free, Pan-Canadian digital vaccination tool, CANImmunize. Eligible accounts contained at least one parental and one “child/dependent” record. Each parental characteristic (gender, age, family size, etc) was tested for association with pediatric influenza vaccination, and a multivariate logistic regression model was fit. A total of 6,801 CANImmunize accounts met inclusion criteria. After collapsing the dataset, the final sample contained 11,381 unique dyads. Influenza vaccination was reported for 32.3% of the children and 42.0% of the parents. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, parents receiving the seasonal influenza vaccine were most strongly associated with reporting pediatric influenza vaccination (OR 17.05, 95% CI 15.08, 19.28). Having a larger family size and fewer transactions during the study period was associated with not reporting pediatric influenza vaccination. While there are several limitations to this large-scale study, these results can help inform future research in the area. Digital technologies may provide a unique and valuable source of vaccine coverage data and to explore associations between individual characteristics and immunization behavior. Policy makers considering digital messaging may want to tailor their efforts based on parental characteristics to further improve pediatric seasonal influenza vaccine uptake.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2378580Influenza vaccinationparental characteristicsimmunization programsdigital health recordsvaccination coverage
spellingShingle Katherine Atkinson
Blaise Ntacyabukura
Steven Hawken
Ziad El-Khatib
Lucie Laflamme
Kumanan Wilson
Parent and family characteristics associated with reported pediatric influenza vaccination in a sample of Canadian digital vaccination platform users. An exploratory, cross-sectional study in the 2018-2019 influenza season
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
Influenza vaccination
parental characteristics
immunization programs
digital health records
vaccination coverage
title Parent and family characteristics associated with reported pediatric influenza vaccination in a sample of Canadian digital vaccination platform users. An exploratory, cross-sectional study in the 2018-2019 influenza season
title_full Parent and family characteristics associated with reported pediatric influenza vaccination in a sample of Canadian digital vaccination platform users. An exploratory, cross-sectional study in the 2018-2019 influenza season
title_fullStr Parent and family characteristics associated with reported pediatric influenza vaccination in a sample of Canadian digital vaccination platform users. An exploratory, cross-sectional study in the 2018-2019 influenza season
title_full_unstemmed Parent and family characteristics associated with reported pediatric influenza vaccination in a sample of Canadian digital vaccination platform users. An exploratory, cross-sectional study in the 2018-2019 influenza season
title_short Parent and family characteristics associated with reported pediatric influenza vaccination in a sample of Canadian digital vaccination platform users. An exploratory, cross-sectional study in the 2018-2019 influenza season
title_sort parent and family characteristics associated with reported pediatric influenza vaccination in a sample of canadian digital vaccination platform users an exploratory cross sectional study in the 2018 2019 influenza season
topic Influenza vaccination
parental characteristics
immunization programs
digital health records
vaccination coverage
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2378580
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