2469. Knowledge, Attitudes, Confidence, and Hesitancy Toward Vaccines Among Residents in Pediatric and Family Practice Programs

Abstract

BackgroundHealthcare provider immunization education is vital to accurately address concerns regarding vaccines, but such training is not standardized across residency programs. To assess educational needs and develop a vaccine curriculum for pediatric (Peds) and family medicine (FM) residents, the Collaboration for Vaccination Education and Research (CoVER) was established. There is a need to identify knowledge, attitudes, and hesitancy regarding vaccines among residents.MethodsIn July 2017, an anonymous 30-item survey was sent to residents from 26 US institutions participating in CoVER. Items included (1) vaccine knowledge, (2) attitudes toward vaccines, (3) resident vaccine hesitancy, and (4) demographics. Differences in proportions were calculated using Fisher’s Exact test while the Kruskal–Wallis test was used to compare continuous outcomes.ResultsOf 1,447 residents invited, 746 completed the survey (52% response rate). Among participants, 12 were excluded due to inability to determine residency type and or year. The final cohort consisted of 734 residents (Table 1). Knowledge (Figure 1): Percent correct increased with residency year from PGY1 to PGY4 (49%, [95% CI 47–51]; 64% [95% CI 58–70]; test for trend P < 0.001). Compared with FM residents, Peds residents were more likely to answer knowledge questions correctly (56%; 49%; P < 0.001). Attitudes (Table 2): Confidence in communicating with parents increased with training (P < 0.001) but confidence in vaccination did not. Hesitancy (Figure 2): Three percent of residents (n = 21) self-reported as vaccine hesitant. They were more likely to be FM (75%, P < 0.001). Residents were more likely to delay a vaccine in someone without a medical contraindication with increased year of training (P < 0.001).ConclusionThis initial assessment of the residents’ knowledge, attitudes and hesitancy shows that despite increasing knowledge with training, vaccine confidence was unaffected. It was surprising to find hesitancy among residents, highlighting the need for further vaccine education. Future steps include evaluation of a vaccine education curriculum in residency training to increase confidence in the benefits of vaccination.Disclosures B. Pahud, Pfizer Foundation: Grant Investigator, Research grant. GlaxoSmithKline: Investigator, Salary. Alios Biopharma/Janssen: Investigator, Salary. Pfizer: Consultant, Consulting fee and Speaker honorarium. Sequirus: Consultant, Consulting fee. Sanofi Pasteur: Consultant, Consulting fee. B. R. Lee, PCORI: Grant Investigator, Research grant. KCALSI: Grant Investigator, Research grant. Merck: Investigator, Salary. D. Middleton, Merck: Scientific Advisor, Consulting fee. Pfizer: Scientific Advisor, Consulting fee. GlaxoSmithKline: Scientific Advisor, Consulting fee. Sanofi Pasteur: Scientific Advisor, Consulting fee.