VANCOUVER, B.C. – Vaccine information provided by a child's doctor was the main driver of whether infants received their immunizations on time, a study of 254 women and their infants has shown.
Compared with women who received vaccine information from other sources (such as nurses, relatives, or the Internet), women who received their information from a physician were 2.98 times more likely to have their children fully immunized by the age of 3 months, according to Gina Calarco, who announced the results during a press briefing at the meeting.
“This is very significant in that doctors play a significant role in the education of the moms for vaccine purposes,” said Ms. Calarco, who is project manager at Infectious Diseases and Vaccines for Quintiles, an Overland Park, Kan., contract research organization.
Of the mothers in the study, 69% agreed to have a tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap) booster vaccine themselves post partum, and 88% of their infants were fully vaccinated by their 2-month postpartum visit, according to immunization records. Of the 31% of mothers who declined the Tdap vaccine, 85% went on to have their infants vaccinated. That difference was not statistically significant. The investigators had hypothesized that the mothers who accepted Tdap vaccinations for themselves would be more likely to get their infants fully vaccinated, but this was not the case. Advice from the child's physician, however, was a significant factor.
Investigators sent questionnaires to the mothers after the 2-month well-child visit, receiving 105 responses. Of the mothers of fully vaccinated infants, 79% received vaccine information from a physician. Mothers of infants who were not fully vaccinated said they received vaccine information from a nurse (67%) or another source (79%).
“I think what this data overall shows is that physicians shouldn't be afraid to bring up [immunization], and should actively bring it up with their patients,” Ms. Calarco said. “Having the discussion – whether the parent asks for it or not – is the important part, and giving them that education on vaccination. I don't know that there's a right or wrong way [to do this], because everyone's different and everyone takes in information differently. But I think physicians need to be confident that they're heard and that the communication with their patient is effective.”
The study investigators acknowledged support from the Kenneth and Eva Smith Foundation and the University of Missouri–Kansas City.