Pertussis Vaccination Among Childcare Center Staff, Administrators, and Parents: Uptake, Policies, and Beliefs

Introduction Little is known about childcare staff’s and parents’ uptake of and attitudes towards pertussis vaccine. Methods Questionnaires were distributed to St. Louis parents and childcare staff in fall, 2014. Parents versus staff and vaccinated versus unvaccinated individuals’ beliefs regarding pertussis vaccine were compared using chi square tests. Multivariate logistic regressions were run to develop predictive models for staff’s and parents’ vaccine uptake. Results Overall, 351 parents and staff from 23 agencies participated (response rate = 32%). Parents were more likely than staff to have received pertussis vaccine (66.5 vs. 45.8%, X² = 12.5, p <.001). Predictors for staff vaccination included willingness to get vaccinated even if there was a cost (OR 6.6; CI 1.8–24.6; p <.01), awareness of vaccination recommendations (OR 5.2; CI 1.2–22.8; p <.05), and healthcare provider recommendation (OR 4.2; CI 1.2–15.1; p <.05). Parents’ predictors of vaccination included perceived importance of vaccination (OR 9.9; CI 4.1–23.8; p <.001), healthcare provider recommendation (OR 4.6; CI 1.7–12.6; p <.01), believing vaccination is effective (OR 4.4; CI 1.1–18.0; p <.05), and knowing where to get vaccine (OR 3.5; CI 1.5–8.1; p <.01). Among unvaccinated staff (n = 52), 74.5% (n = 38) and 70.0% (n = 35) would receive pertussis vaccine if it were offered free of charge and onsite, respectively. Conclusions for Practice Childcare staff’s and parents’ pertussis vaccine uptake was higher than overall U.S. rates, though significantly lower than the Global Pertussis Initiative target. Implementing an education campaign and providing free vaccine on-site are likely to result in increased vaccine uptake.