Abstract
Objective: To investigate the attitudes of expectant Australian fathers towards vaccination, and to identify factors which may influence these attitudes. Methods: A cross-sectional survey study of 407 Australian men with expectant partners, mean age 30.4 (SD 6.7). Self reported attitude, level of knowledge and information resources accessed regarding pregnancy related issues. Participant demographics collected included: Age, number of children, relationship status, level of education, employment information and smoking status. Results: Majority (89%) of participants had a positive attitude towards infant vaccination, 9% felt neutral and 2% had negative attitudes. Positive attitudes towards vaccination were associated with lower self-reported knowledge of pregnancy issues but a higher likelihood of discussing pregnancy issues with health care providers rather than sourcing information from the internet (both p<0.001). Conclusion: A majority of Australian expectant fathers have a positive attitude towards infant vaccination. Fathers with negative attitudes to vaccination self-reported higher levels of knowledge. They were more likely to obtain information from the Internet instead of healthcare staff. Implication for public health: Including fathers in health discussion with knowledgeable health care providers may result in increased vaccine uptake.
Highlights
Implication for public health: Including fathers in health discussion with knowledgeable health care providers may result in increased vaccine uptake
Vaccine preventable diseases place a heavy burden on the community and the introduction of widespread immunization regimens have resulted in the reduction or eradication of many diseases, saving millions of lives
The majority of participants had a positive attitude towards infant vaccination (N=357, 89%)
Summary
Vaccine preventable diseases place a heavy burden on the community and the introduction of widespread immunization regimens have resulted in the reduction or eradication of many diseases, saving millions of lives. It is considered one of the most significant contributions to the improvement in global health outcomes [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Despite the success of immunization programs, many children still contract vaccine preventable illnesses, some with tragic outcomes [6,8]. Other vaccine opponents question the safety, efficacy and necessity of recommended vaccines [9,10,11,12]
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