Vaccine Attitudes and Practices in a National Sample of Pediatric Nurses
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Date
2021-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Introduction: Declining public trust in vaccines has resulted in parents opting out of or delaying recommended childhood immunizations. And, while nurses are consistently rated as the most trusted and ethical profession in America based on Gallup polls, out of all healthcare providers nurses are most likely to opt out of recommended immunizations. Pediatric nurses in particular are in a unique position to influence parents' vaccine attitudes either positively or negatively. They are also in a position to influence parents' decisions regarding COVID-19 precautions and vaccination decisions. The overall aims of this study were to describe 1) self-reported vaccine attitudes and behaviors among pediatric nurses and 2) nurses' self-reported adherence to COVID-19 precautions and intent to receive a Coronavirus vaccine.
Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative descriptive study using an anonymous online questionnaire was used. Registered nurses working in children's hospitals in the United States in both direct and indirect care roles were solicited by email from October to December 2020 to complete the 48-item questionnaires via the REDCap platform. Descriptive analyses were used to describe pediatric nurses' attitudes and behaviors about vaccines as well as their adherence to precautions and intent to receive a Coronavirus vaccine.
Results: 871 nurses from five children's hospitals in 4 geographic regions responded (9.8% response rate). More than 98% of respondents believe that vaccines are both safe and effective and 97% are up to date on recommended vaccines for themselves and their dependents. Ten percent identified as vaccine hesitant but less than 2% had ever requested a non-medical vaccine exemption from an employer. However, 27.9% of respondents reported concerns with the vaccine manufacturing process. Approximately half believe that the COVID-19 vaccine should be required for healthcare workers and only 60% reported willingness to immediately receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Conclusion: While pediatric nurses report high levels of vaccination and few non-medical exemption requests, concerns are high regarding vaccine manufacturing processes and mandated vaccines for healthcare workers. Education on vaccine development and manufacturing is needed to ensure strong uptake of COVID-19 vaccination among pediatrics nurses in order to protect vulnerable children and to foster positive vaccine sentiment among patients, caregivers, and co-workers.
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Keywords
vaccine hesitancy, pediatric nurses, covid-19