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Adolescent meningococcal vaccinate uptake remains lows
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Many parents are aware of the meningococcal vaccine, but not enough adolescents are being vaccinated, according to study results published in Clinical Pediatrics.
The survey-based study examined results from the 2008 North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and 2008 Child Health Assessment and Monitoring Program surveys, in which 1,281 parents of children aged 11 to 17 years participated.
According to researchers, 65% of participants reported having heard of the meningococcal vaccine before the survey.
Participants of children aged 16 to 17 years vs. those aged 11 to 12 years were more aware of the vaccine (OR=1.82; 95% CI, 1.21-2.74). Participants whose children went to private school were more aware of the vaccine than participants of children going to public school (OR=1.95; 95% CI, 1.09-3.50). Those who had some form of health care coverage also were more aware (OR=1.90; 95% CI, 1.04-3.45).
Researchers found that participants of Hispanic children were less aware of the vaccine compared to non-Hispanic whites (OR=0.50; 95% CI, 0.28-0.89), as well as those who did not report an annual household income, compared with those reporting an income of $50,000 or more (OR=0.55; 95% CI, 0.30-0.99).
Among the 703 participants aware of the vaccine, only 44% reported their child had received it, according to the researchers. Children were more likely to receive the vaccine if they were black compared with white (OR=2.17; 95% CI, 1.296-3.65) or had a preventive checkup in the past year (OR=3.03; 95% CI, 1.72-5.33).
Participants who had at least two children aged younger than 18 years also were more likely to report their child received the vaccine (OR=1.83; 95% CI, 1.22-2.75).
The researchers said participants who were aware of the vaccine but had not vaccinated (n=423) cited a number of reasons for not vaccinating, including health care providers not mentioning or recommending the vaccine (24.7%); believing that their child did not need meningococcal vaccine (13.6%); believing their child was too young or waiting until the child is older (10.1%); concerns about vaccine safety (9%); and reporting that the child had not been to a doctor recently (7.6%).
“Increasing the number of adolescents who have a regular health care provider, annual preventive visits, provider recommendations to vaccinate, and health care insurance may be important strategies to increase uptake of meningococcal vaccine,” researchers said. “Future research should examine how to better translate parental vaccination awareness into adolescent vaccination, and the reasons that white parents are less likely to vaccinate their adolescents despite higher awareness of the vaccine as well as racial and socioeconomic privilege.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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