Willingness and understanding of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in young children: a cross-sectional study among parents in Malaysia

Background: The safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations are crucial factors that parents consider when deciding whether to vaccinate their children. Aim: This study aimed to investigate parents' understanding of COVID-19 vaccines and its association with the degree of willingness to vaccin...

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Published in:JOURNAL OF PHARMACY PRACTICE AND RESEARCH
Main Authors: Ibrahim, Norkasihan; Afandi, Muhammad Firdaus; Abu Bakar, Karmila; Eng, Caroline; Balan, Shamala; Abd Wahab, Mohd Shahezwan; Jamal, Janattul-Ain
Format: Article; Early Access
Language:English
Published: WILEY 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www-webofscience-com.uitm.idm.oclc.org/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001162535100001
author Ibrahim
Norkasihan; Afandi
Muhammad Firdaus; Abu Bakar
Karmila; Eng
Caroline; Balan
Shamala; Abd Wahab
Mohd Shahezwan; Jamal
Janattul-Ain
spellingShingle Ibrahim
Norkasihan; Afandi
Muhammad Firdaus; Abu Bakar
Karmila; Eng
Caroline; Balan
Shamala; Abd Wahab
Mohd Shahezwan; Jamal
Janattul-Ain
Willingness and understanding of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in young children: a cross-sectional study among parents in Malaysia
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
author_facet Ibrahim
Norkasihan; Afandi
Muhammad Firdaus; Abu Bakar
Karmila; Eng
Caroline; Balan
Shamala; Abd Wahab
Mohd Shahezwan; Jamal
Janattul-Ain
author_sort Ibrahim
spelling Ibrahim, Norkasihan; Afandi, Muhammad Firdaus; Abu Bakar, Karmila; Eng, Caroline; Balan, Shamala; Abd Wahab, Mohd Shahezwan; Jamal, Janattul-Ain
Willingness and understanding of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in young children: a cross-sectional study among parents in Malaysia
JOURNAL OF PHARMACY PRACTICE AND RESEARCH
English
Article; Early Access
Background: The safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations are crucial factors that parents consider when deciding whether to vaccinate their children. Aim: This study aimed to investigate parents' understanding of COVID-19 vaccines and its association with the degree of willingness to vaccinate their young children. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among the public with children younger than 12 years old. Information on parents' demography, understanding of COVID-19 vaccines and their willingness to get their children vaccinated were collected. The association between the level of understanding and willingness was tested using the One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Predictors of good understanding and high willingness were investigated using multiple linear regression. Ethics approval was granted by the Research Ethics Committee of Universiti Teknologi MARA (Reference no: REC [PH]/012/2022) and the study conforms with the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. A web-based survey link was distributed through social media platforms. The initial section of the survey included a project information sheet including the purpose of the study, length of questionnaire, identity of researchers and measures taken to ensure data confidentiality and anonymity of participants. Participants provided their consent electronically prior to being granted access to the questionnaire. Results: Of the 386 respondents, 53.4% had a good understanding, and 74.6% had a high willingness. Only 42.5% agreed that the vaccines are effective in protecting children from getting COVID-19, 79.5% and 73.3% misunderstood the severity and tendency to experience the side effects, respectively. A better understanding was associated with a higher willingness to vaccinate ([F(4381) = 54.417, p = 0.000). A higher understanding was significantly associated with higher educational status (postgraduate [beta = 0.297, p = 0.028] and bachelor [beta = 0.275, p = 0.034], work in a health-related field [beta = 0.300, p < 0.001]) and have received a COVID-19 booster (beta = 0.347, p < 0.001). A high willingness was prevalent among parents working in a health-related field, had received a COVID-19 booster and had medical condition. Low willingness was observed among parents aged above 30 years old and those who have used herbal medicines. Conclusion: It is of utmost importance to comprehend parents' understanding of this topic to minimise hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccination in children.
WILEY
1445-937X
2055-2335
2024


10.1002/jppr.1901
Pharmacology & Pharmacy

WOS:001162535100001
https://www-webofscience-com.uitm.idm.oclc.org/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001162535100001
title Willingness and understanding of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in young children: a cross-sectional study among parents in Malaysia
title_short Willingness and understanding of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in young children: a cross-sectional study among parents in Malaysia
title_full Willingness and understanding of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in young children: a cross-sectional study among parents in Malaysia
title_fullStr Willingness and understanding of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in young children: a cross-sectional study among parents in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Willingness and understanding of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in young children: a cross-sectional study among parents in Malaysia
title_sort Willingness and understanding of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in young children: a cross-sectional study among parents in Malaysia
container_title JOURNAL OF PHARMACY PRACTICE AND RESEARCH
language English
format Article; Early Access
description Background: The safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations are crucial factors that parents consider when deciding whether to vaccinate their children. Aim: This study aimed to investigate parents' understanding of COVID-19 vaccines and its association with the degree of willingness to vaccinate their young children. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among the public with children younger than 12 years old. Information on parents' demography, understanding of COVID-19 vaccines and their willingness to get their children vaccinated were collected. The association between the level of understanding and willingness was tested using the One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Predictors of good understanding and high willingness were investigated using multiple linear regression. Ethics approval was granted by the Research Ethics Committee of Universiti Teknologi MARA (Reference no: REC [PH]/012/2022) and the study conforms with the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. A web-based survey link was distributed through social media platforms. The initial section of the survey included a project information sheet including the purpose of the study, length of questionnaire, identity of researchers and measures taken to ensure data confidentiality and anonymity of participants. Participants provided their consent electronically prior to being granted access to the questionnaire. Results: Of the 386 respondents, 53.4% had a good understanding, and 74.6% had a high willingness. Only 42.5% agreed that the vaccines are effective in protecting children from getting COVID-19, 79.5% and 73.3% misunderstood the severity and tendency to experience the side effects, respectively. A better understanding was associated with a higher willingness to vaccinate ([F(4381) = 54.417, p = 0.000). A higher understanding was significantly associated with higher educational status (postgraduate [beta = 0.297, p = 0.028] and bachelor [beta = 0.275, p = 0.034], work in a health-related field [beta = 0.300, p < 0.001]) and have received a COVID-19 booster (beta = 0.347, p < 0.001). A high willingness was prevalent among parents working in a health-related field, had received a COVID-19 booster and had medical condition. Low willingness was observed among parents aged above 30 years old and those who have used herbal medicines. Conclusion: It is of utmost importance to comprehend parents' understanding of this topic to minimise hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccination in children.
publisher WILEY
issn 1445-937X
2055-2335
publishDate 2024
container_volume
container_issue
doi_str_mv 10.1002/jppr.1901
topic Pharmacology & Pharmacy
topic_facet Pharmacology & Pharmacy
accesstype
id WOS:001162535100001
url https://www-webofscience-com.uitm.idm.oclc.org/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001162535100001
record_format wos
collection Web of Science (WoS)
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