Parental Vaccine Hesitancy a Growing Concern in Campo Grande, Brazil

Campo Grande, Brazil – A important public health challenge is emerging as vaccine-hesitant parents increasingly delay or refuse childhood immunizations. A recent study conducted in campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, aimed to quantify this parental hesitancy and identify its contributing factors.

Teh cross-sectional study, which ran from September 2022 to October 2023, employed a household survey methodology aligned with the World health Organization’s two-stage cluster sampling approach for estimating vaccination coverage.Researchers interviewed 158 parents of children under 12 years old, utilizing the SAGE Working Group questionnaire to assess vaccine hesitancy. The reasons behind hesitancy were categorized using the 3C conceptual model.

Findings revealed that 39.2% of parents surveyed expressed hesitancy regarding their children’s vaccinations. Notably, COVID-19 vaccines elicited the highest level of hesitancy, at 77.4%. The primary reason cited for this reluctance was a lack of confidence, reported by 85.5% of hesitant parents.

The study identified several key associations with parental vaccine hesitancy. Parents residing in larger households were more likely to be hesitant (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02; 1.72). Moreover, parents who believed there were valid reasons not to immunize their children exhibited higher hesitancy (aOR = 4.02; 95% CI: 1.41; 12.77), as did those who hesitated to receive vaccines themselves (aOR = 3.74; 95% CI: 1.80; 8.16).

These results underscore a connection between parental hesitancy and socioeconomic and behavioral factors, highlighting the need for targeted public health interventions.