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Children's rates of COVID-19 vaccination as reported by parents, vaccine hesitancy, and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among children: a multi-country study from the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
BMC Public Health. 2022 07 18; 22(1):1375.BP

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Huge efforts are being made to control the spread and impacts of the coronavirus pandemic using vaccines. However, willingness to be vaccinated depends on factors beyond the availability of vaccines. The aim of this study was three-folded: to assess children's rates of COVID-19 Vaccination as reported by parents, to explore parents' attitudes towards children's COVID-19 vaccination, and to examine the factors associated with parents' hesitancy towards children's vaccination in several countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR).

METHODS

This study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design. A sample of 3744 parents from eight countries, namely, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (KSA), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was conveniently approached and surveyed using Google forms from November to December 2021. The participants have responded to a 42-item questionnaire pertaining to socio-demographics, children vaccination status, knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines, and attitudes towards vaccinating children and the vaccine itself. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS- IBM, Chicago, IL, USA) was used to analyze the data. A cross-tabulation analysis using the chi-square test was employed to assess significant differences between categorical variables and a backward Wald stepwise binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the independent effect of each factor after controlling for potential confounders.

RESULTS

The prevalence of vaccinated children against COVID-19 was 32% as reported by the parents. Concerning parents' attitudes towards vaccines safety, about one third of participants (32.5%) believe that all vaccines are not safe. In the regression analysis, children's vaccination was significantly correlated with parents' age, education, occupation, parents' previous COVID-19 infection, and their vaccination status. Participants aged ≥50 years and those aged 40-50 years had an odds ratio of 17.9 (OR = 17.9, CI: 11.16-28.97) and 13.2 (OR = 13.2, CI: 8.42-20.88); respectively, for vaccinating their children compared to those aged 18-29 years. Parents who had COVID-19 vaccine were about five folds more likely to vaccinate their children compared with parents who did not receive the vaccine (OR = 4.9, CI: 3.12-7.70). The prevalence of children's vaccination in the participating Arab countries is still not promising.

CONCLUSION

To encourage parents, vaccinate their children against COVID-19, Arab governments should strategize accordingly. Reassurance of the efficacy and effectiveness of the vaccine should target the general population using educational campaigns, social media, and official TV and radio channels.

Links

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Khatatbeh M
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan. Moawia.m@yu.edu.jo.
Albalas S
Department of Health Services Administration, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
Khatatbeh H
Doctoral School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
Momani W
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
Melhem O
Department of Nursing, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Al Omari O
College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
Tarhini Z
CAPTuR Laboratory, Control of Cell Activation in Tumor Progression and Therapeutic Resistance, Limoges, France. Institute of Epidemiology and Tropical Neurology, GEIST, Limoges, France.
A'aqoulah A
Department of Health Systems Management, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Al-Jubouri M
College of Nursing, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
Nashwan AJ
Nursing Department, Hazm Mebaireek General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Adwan G
Department of Biology and Biotechnology, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
Altaany Z
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
Nashwan A
Department of Sociology and Social Work, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
Al-Waqfi K
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
Abuirsheid L
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
Ayasreh R
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
Al Mutairi M
Ministry of Health, Kuwait, Kuwait.
Al-Tammemi AB
Migration Health Division, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Amman, Jordan.

MeSH

COVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesChildCross-Sectional StudiesHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansParentsVaccinationVaccination HesitancyVaccines

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

35850675

Citation

Khatatbeh, Moawiah, et al. "Children's Rates of COVID-19 Vaccination as Reported By Parents, Vaccine Hesitancy, and Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among Children: a Multi-country Study From the Eastern Mediterranean Region." BMC Public Health, vol. 22, no. 1, 2022, p. 1375.
Khatatbeh M, Albalas S, Khatatbeh H, et al. Children's rates of COVID-19 vaccination as reported by parents, vaccine hesitancy, and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among children: a multi-country study from the Eastern Mediterranean Region. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(1):1375.
Khatatbeh, M., Albalas, S., Khatatbeh, H., Momani, W., Melhem, O., Al Omari, O., Tarhini, Z., A'aqoulah, A., Al-Jubouri, M., Nashwan, A. J., Adwan, G., Altaany, Z., Nashwan, A., Al-Waqfi, K., Abuirsheid, L., Ayasreh, R., Al Mutairi, M., & Al-Tammemi, A. B. (2022). Children's rates of COVID-19 vaccination as reported by parents, vaccine hesitancy, and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among children: a multi-country study from the Eastern Mediterranean Region. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1375. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13798-2
Khatatbeh M, et al. Children's Rates of COVID-19 Vaccination as Reported By Parents, Vaccine Hesitancy, and Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among Children: a Multi-country Study From the Eastern Mediterranean Region. BMC Public Health. 2022 07 18;22(1):1375. PubMed PMID: 35850675.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Children's rates of COVID-19 vaccination as reported by parents, vaccine hesitancy, and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among children: a multi-country study from the Eastern Mediterranean Region. AU - Khatatbeh,Moawiah, AU - Albalas,Samir, AU - Khatatbeh,Haitham, AU - Momani,Waleed, AU - Melhem,Omar, AU - Al Omari,Omar, AU - Tarhini,Zeinab, AU - A'aqoulah,Ashraf, AU - Al-Jubouri,Mohammed, AU - Nashwan,Abdulqadir J, AU - Adwan,Ghaleb, AU - Altaany,Zaid, AU - Nashwan,Ayat, AU - Al-Waqfi,Khaled, AU - Abuirsheid,Lujain, AU - Ayasreh,Raghad, AU - Al Mutairi,Mohammed, AU - Al-Tammemi,Ala'a B, Y1 - 2022/07/18/ PY - 2022/01/20/received PY - 2022/07/11/accepted PY - 2022/7/19/entrez PY - 2022/7/20/pubmed PY - 2022/7/22/medline KW - Arab countries KW - COVID-19 KW - EMR KW - attitude KW - coverage KW - hesitancy KW - vaccination SP - 1375 EP - 1375 JF - BMC public health JO - BMC Public Health VL - 22 IS - 1 N2 - BACKGROUND: Huge efforts are being made to control the spread and impacts of the coronavirus pandemic using vaccines. However, willingness to be vaccinated depends on factors beyond the availability of vaccines. The aim of this study was three-folded: to assess children's rates of COVID-19 Vaccination as reported by parents, to explore parents' attitudes towards children's COVID-19 vaccination, and to examine the factors associated with parents' hesitancy towards children's vaccination in several countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). METHODS: This study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design. A sample of 3744 parents from eight countries, namely, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (KSA), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was conveniently approached and surveyed using Google forms from November to December 2021. The participants have responded to a 42-item questionnaire pertaining to socio-demographics, children vaccination status, knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines, and attitudes towards vaccinating children and the vaccine itself. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS- IBM, Chicago, IL, USA) was used to analyze the data. A cross-tabulation analysis using the chi-square test was employed to assess significant differences between categorical variables and a backward Wald stepwise binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the independent effect of each factor after controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: The prevalence of vaccinated children against COVID-19 was 32% as reported by the parents. Concerning parents' attitudes towards vaccines safety, about one third of participants (32.5%) believe that all vaccines are not safe. In the regression analysis, children's vaccination was significantly correlated with parents' age, education, occupation, parents' previous COVID-19 infection, and their vaccination status. Participants aged ≥50 years and those aged 40-50 years had an odds ratio of 17.9 (OR = 17.9, CI: 11.16-28.97) and 13.2 (OR = 13.2, CI: 8.42-20.88); respectively, for vaccinating their children compared to those aged 18-29 years. Parents who had COVID-19 vaccine were about five folds more likely to vaccinate their children compared with parents who did not receive the vaccine (OR = 4.9, CI: 3.12-7.70). The prevalence of children's vaccination in the participating Arab countries is still not promising. CONCLUSION: To encourage parents, vaccinate their children against COVID-19, Arab governments should strategize accordingly. Reassurance of the efficacy and effectiveness of the vaccine should target the general population using educational campaigns, social media, and official TV and radio channels. SN - 1471-2458 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/35850675/Children's_rates_of_COVID_19_vaccination_as_reported_by_parents_vaccine_hesitancy_and_determinants_of_COVID_19_vaccine_uptake_among_children:_a_multi_country_study_from_the_Eastern_Mediterranean_Region_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -