Parental psychological distress and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination: A cross-sectional survey in Shenzhen, China

Abstract

Background Parental attitudes towards the vaccines play a key role in the success of the herd immunity for the COVID-19. Psychological health seemed to be a controversial determinant of vaccine hesitancy and remained to be investigated. This study attempted to measure parental psychological distress, attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine, and to explore the potential associations. Methods An online survey using convenience sampling method was conducted among parents within the school public health network of Shenzhen. Demographic information and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination were collected. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) was applied to measure psychological distress. Results Overall, 4,748 parents were included (average age: 40.28, standard deviation: 5.08). More than one fifth of them demonstrated psychological distress, in which only 3.3% were moderate to severe symptom. The proportions of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy for themselves, their spouses, and their children were 25.2%, 26.1%, and 27.3%, respectively. Parents with psychological distress were more likely to suffer vaccine hesitancy for themselves (OR: 1.277, 95%CI: 1.091∼1.494), for their spouses (OR:1.276, 95%CI: 1.088∼1.496) and children (OR:1.274, 95%CI: 1.092∼1.486). These associations tended to be more significant among parents with mild or severe psychological distress. Limitation Non-random sampling limited the generalization of our findings to all parents. Conclusion Parents had a low level of psychological distress but relatively high willingness of COVID-19 vaccination when there was no local epidemic but persistent risk of imported cases. Targeted health education and intervention strategies should be provided to people with vaccine hesitancy, especially for those who were susceptible to psychological distress.

Predictors of parents’ intention to vaccinate their children against the COVID-19 in Greece: a cross-sectional study

“…Our multivariate analysis revealed a positive relationship between parents’ self-perceived severity of COVID-19 and their intention to vaccinate their children. Several studies confirm our finding that risk perception of COVID-19 is a strong determinant of parents’ COVID-19 vaccine acceptance (Kelly et al, 2021; Skjefte et al, 2021; Xu et al, 2021; Yigit et al, 2021; Yilmaz and Sahin, 2021). In general, people who consider the COVID-19 as dangerous and life-threatening are those who are most willing to be vaccinated (Caserotti et al, 2021; Glöckner et al, 2020; Karlsson et al, 2021; Ward et al, 2020).…”

The Association Between Risk Perception and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy for Children Among Reproductive Women in China: An Online Survey

“…According to our investigation, the proportion of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among reproductive women in China was 8.44%, which was lower than that in some provinces or territories of China (21)(22)(23)(24). For example, 87.5% would accept a vaccine with the most ideal attributes for their child, while with the least ideal attributes, these numbers dropped to 31.3% in Shanghai, China (22).…”

“…For example, 87.5% would accept a vaccine with the most ideal attributes for their child, while with the least ideal attributes, these numbers dropped to 31.3% in Shanghai, China (22). Xu et al reported that the proportion of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy for their children was 27.3% in Shenzhen, China (23). Only 59.3% of parents reported willingness to avail COVID-19 vaccine for their children in Wuxi, China (24).…”

“…The proportion of parental unwillingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 was 14.7 and 12.5% in Shanghai, China (21,22), 27.3% in Shenzhen, China (23), and 40.7% in Wuxi, China (24). Numerous factors are independently associated with parental vaccine decision-making, including risk perception (14,15,25), lifestyle, knowledge of vaccines (19), parental education (25,26), vaccines' country of origin (27), history of vaccination against influenza (16), and parental psychological distress (23). Risk perception is a subjective construction process comprising multiple dimensions, including judgments on the severity and controllability of risks (28).…”

Caregiver Willingness to Vaccinate Their Children against COVID-19 after Adult Vaccine Approval

“…Family member's support and feeling the child will take up vaccination were associated with higher parental acceptability [25]. Among almost 5000 parents within the school public health network of the same region, hesitancy was 27.3% and parents with psychological distress were more likely to be hesitant about vaccinating their children [26]. A self-administered online survey in Turkey at the same time as our phase 2 revealed much lower willingness to vaccinate children (36.3%) than in our survey, and in comparison to the rate of parents planning to get vaccinated themselves (59.9%).…”