Vaccine Literacy and Hesitancy Among Parents and Legal Guardians of Elementary School-Aged Children in Two Northern Indiana Cities

Author(s): Margaret Cicchiello, Charles Robert Lichtenstern, Reena Lamichhane-Khadka

Parental refusal of childhood vaccines is a growing public health concern. Numerous reasons exist for this refusal, including religious, personal, and philosophical beliefs, and safety concerns. However, parental refusal of childhood vaccines is not simply an individualized problem for the family; this impacts herd immunity and affects the entire community. To improve vaccination rates among the pediatric population, understanding the thought process and decision-making behind parental opposition and refusal of vaccinations is essential. Using a survey developed to assess attitudes towards recommended childhood vaccines and the COVID-19 vaccine, this study examined the association between vaccine literacy and hesitancy among parents and legal guardians of elementary school-aged children in two northern Indiana cities. Responses were analyzed using Chi-squared tests on “R-4.1.1” software. Significant associations were found between COVID-19 hesitancy and vaccine literacy, and resistance towards all vaccines and vaccine literacy. No associations were found between hesitancy towards all vaccines and vaccine literacy, or hesitancy and literacy among different income and education brackets. Our results suggest that vaccine education may lessen vaccine hesitancy among parents and may be an essential factor in improving vaccination rates among the pediatric population.