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Perceptions and Knowledge About the MenB Vaccine Among Parents of High School Students
- Source :
- Journal of Community Health
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Springer US, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Serogroup B meningococcal disease (MenB) causes almost 60% of meningitis cases among adolescents and young adults. Yet, MenB vaccine coverage among adolescents remains below 10%. Since parents are the primary medical decision makers for adolescents, we examined MenB vaccination rates and parent attitudes about meningitis and the MenB vaccine. In 2018, in conjunction with a county-wide, school-based immunization campaign, we conducted a mixed methods study among parents of 16- to 17-year-olds. We facilitated focus groups asking parents about their knowledge of meningitis and reactions to educational materials and sent behavioral surveys based on Health Belief Model constructs to parents through the county high school system. Parents in three focus groups (n = 8; participation rate = 13%) expressed confusion about their child’s need to receive the MenB vaccine in addition to the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY), but conveyed strong trust in their physicians’ recommendation. Among survey participants (n = 170), 70 (41%) had heard of the MenB vaccine. Among those 70 parents, the most common barriers to vaccination were concerns about side effects (55%) and uncertainty of susceptibility due to receipt of the MenACWY vaccine (30%). The percentage of teens that received at least one dose of the MenB vaccine was 50% (n = 35) by parent report and 23% (n = 16) by state vaccination records. Parents demonstrated uncertainty and confusion about the MenB vaccine particularly due to the existence of another meningitis vaccine and limited health care provider recommendations. Confirmatory studies of parent confusion about the MenB vaccine are needed to develop interventions.
- Subjects :
- Parents
medicine.medical_specialty
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health (social science)
Adolescent
Cross-sectional study
Psychological intervention
Meningococcal Vaccines
Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup B
Meningococcal disease
Focus group
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
0302 clinical medicine
030225 pediatrics
Medicine
Health belief model
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Young adult
Students
Original Paper
Schools
MenB
business.industry
Vaccination
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
medicine.disease
Meningococcal Infections
Community intervention
Family medicine
Cross-sectional survey
Immunization
business
Meningitis
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 15733610 and 00945145
- Volume :
- 46
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Community Health
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....8474524c01a69a992fda003f06297fcc