Parents' Immunisation Needs and Attitudes - Antenatal (PINA-A Survey)

Margaret Danchin¹, Katie Attwell², Jessica Amato³, Harold Willaby⁴, Kerrie Wiley⁵, Michelle Giles⁶, Helen Marshall⁷

¹Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, ²Telethon Kids Institute ³Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, ⁴University of Sydney, ⁵National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, ⁶The Alfred Hospital, Victoria, ⁷Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide.

To ensure that parents are fully informed about childhood vaccination parents need independent, accurate, objective and accessible information. Information pertaining to the risk and benefits of vaccination, the purpose of vaccination and what to expect following administration of a vaccine could be considered a minimum requirement for any parent for any parent to make an informed choice about childhood vaccination. It has been suggested that the process of parent education should commence in the antenatal period, but there is currently insufficient resources to provide this. Further, accurate information is needed to facilitate the process of informed parental consent is required prior to administration of any childhood vaccine, but this requires information that is specific to the vaccine schedule used in any particular setting. This project will focus on building the information resources related to vaccination that can be used in Western Australia.

Plain Language summary: To understand the information needs and attitudes of pregnant women with regards to vaccination during pregnancy and after birth, we are surveying them in hospital during antenatal appointments. Later, we contact them again to find out what vaccination decisions they have made after their babies’ births.

Funder: Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases seed funding

External collaborators:

• Margaret Danchin – Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Vic
• Jessica Amato – Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Vic
• Harold Willaby – School of Public Health, University of Sydney, NSW
• Kerrie Wiley – University of Sydney, NSW; National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Sydney, NSW
• Michelle Giles – The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria
• Helen Marshall – Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, SA