Confidence and barriers: Analysis of factors associated with timely routine childhood vaccination in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic

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dc.contributor.author
MacKay, Harry
Gretton, Jeremy D.
Chyderiotis, Sandra
Elliott, Stephanie
Howarth, Ana
Guo, Catherine
Mastroianni, Angela
Kormos, Christine
Leifer, Jessica
Conway, Lauryn
Morrissey, Mark D.
dc.date.accessioned
2025-01-10T20:20:51Z
dc.date.available
2025-01-10T20:20:51Z
dc.date.issued
2024-10-24
dc.description - en
This research examined routine childhood immunization (vaccines such as MMR: Mumps, Measles, and Rubella) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2023, we surveyed 2036 Canadian parents with children under the age of 18. We asked questions about whether their child(ren) were vaccinated on time (according to provincial vaccine schedules), as well as questions addressing parents’ knowledge and beliefs about vaccines, as well as potential reasons for having missed their child(ren)’s vaccination. These questions covered parents' capability to have their kid(s) vaccinated on time, their motivations for/against vaccination, and barriers that might have gotten in the way. Almost one-quarter of parents reported missing or delaying one of their child(ren)'s routine vaccinations since the beginning of the pandemic, though most parents reported having either caught up or planning to soon. For parents who did not report any barriers to having their 0-4-year-old child(ren) vaccinated, motivation (for example, being in favour of vaccines) was associated with having their child(ren) vaccinated on time. However, if a parent reported any opportunity barriers (such as difficulty getting an appointment), their child(ren) were much less likely to have been vaccinated on time, regardless of how positively they felt about vaccines.
dc.description.abstract - en
Routine childhood vaccination is a crucial component of public health in Canada and worldwide. To facilitate catch-up from the global decline in routine vaccination caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and toward the ongoing pursuit of coverage goals, vaccination programs must understand barriers to vaccine access imposed or exacerbated by the pandemic. We conducted a regionally representative online survey in January 2023 including 2036 Canadian parents with children under the age of 18. We used the COM-B model of behaviour to examine factors influencing vaccination timeliness during the pandemic. We assessed Capability with measures of vaccine understanding and decision difficulty, and Motivation with a measure of vaccine confidence. Opportunity was assessed through parents' self-reported experience with barriers to vaccination. Twenty-four percent of surveyed parents reported having missed or delayed one of their children's scheduled routine vaccinations since the beginning of the pandemic, though most parents reported having either caught up or the intention to catch up soon. In the absence of opportunity barriers, motivation was associated with timely vaccination for children aged 0–4 years (aOR = 1.81, 95 % CI: 1.14–2.84). However, experience with one or more opportunity barriers, particularly clinic closures and difficulties getting an appointment, eliminated this relationship, suggesting perennial and new pandemic-associated barriers are a critical challenge to vaccine coverage goals in Canada.
dc.identifier.doi
10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126236
dc.identifier.uri
https://open-science.canada.ca/handle/123456789/3300
dc.language.iso
en
dc.publisher - en
Elsevier
dc.rights - en
Open Government Licence - Canada
dc.rights - fr
Licence du gouvernement ouvert - Canada
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - en
Gold
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - fr
Or
dc.rights.uri - en
https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada
dc.rights.uri - fr
https://ouvert.canada.ca/fr/licence-du-gouvernement-ouvert-canada
dc.subject - en
Health
Coronavirus diseases
dc.subject - fr
Santé
Maladie à coronavirus
dc.subject.en - en
Health
Coronavirus diseases
dc.subject.fr - fr
Santé
Maladie à coronavirus
dc.title - en
Confidence and barriers: Analysis of factors associated with timely routine childhood vaccination in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic
dc.type - en
Article
dc.type - fr
Article
local.acceptedmanuscript.articlenum
126236
local.article.journalissue
24
local.article.journaltitle - en
Vaccine
local.article.journalvolume
42
local.peerreview - en
Yes
local.peerreview - fr
Oui
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