Factors influencing parental COVID-19 vaccination willingness for children in Japan
Mami Ueta,
Alton Cao,
Michio Murakami,
Hana Tomoi,
Stuart Gilmour,
Keiko Maruyama-Sakurai,
Yoshihiro Takayama,
Yoshitake Takebayashi,
Masahiro Hashizume,
Rauniyar Santosh Kumar,
Hiroyuki Kunishima,
Wataru Naito,
Tetsuo Yasutaka,
Satoshi Kaneko,
Hiroaki Miyata,
Shuhei Nomura
Affiliations
Mami Ueta
Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
Alton Cao
Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
Michio Murakami
Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
Hana Tomoi
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
Stuart Gilmour
Graduate School of Public Health, St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan
Keiko Maruyama-Sakurai
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
Yoshihiro Takayama
Department of International Health and Medical Anthropology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan; Division of Infectious Diseases, Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, Okinawa, Japan
Yoshitake Takebayashi
Department of Health Risk Communication, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan
Masahiro Hashizume
Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Rauniyar Santosh Kumar
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan; Ocean Policy Research Institute, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Tokyo, Japan
Hiroyuki Kunishima
Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
Wataru Naito
Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Ibaraki, Japan
Tetsuo Yasutaka
Research Institute for Geo-Resources and Environment, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Ibaraki, Japan
Satoshi Kaneko
Department of Ecoepidemiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
Hiroaki Miyata
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan; Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan
Shuhei Nomura
Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan; Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan; Corresponding author at: Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Objectives: This study aims to investigate the factors influencing parental willingness in COVID-19 vaccination for children in Japan in light of the introduction of pediatric vaccines. Methods: An online survey was conducted in February 2022, coinciding with the imminent start of pediatric COVID-19 vaccinations in Japan. It assessed attitudes toward vaccine uptake and included questions about health-related attributes, psychological considerations, and sources of COVID-19 information. Data from 2,419 respondents who had children under the age of 12 were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression to identify factors associated with parental willingness towards COVID-19 vaccination for children. The outcomes were “agree” (in favor of vaccination), “not sure” (undecided), with “disagree” (against vaccination) as the reference category. Results: Among participants supportive of vaccination (“agree” compared to the “disagree” reference), salient determinants included: gender (Men in reference to women: odds ratio [OR] 1.54; 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.11–2.15), highest educational level (Junior College/Vocational in reference to under high school: OR 0.61; 95 % CI 0.40–0.93, Bachelor’s /Master’s/Doctoral degree in reference to under high school: OR 0.59; 95 % CI 0.42–0.84), perception of benefits of COVID-19 vaccination (Significant in reference to Insignificant: OR 2.04; 95 % CI 1.26–3.28), perception of risks of COVID-19 vaccination (Significant in reference to Insignificant: OR 0.28; 95 % CI 0.19–0.42, Neutral in reference to Insignificant: OR 0.48; 95 % CI 0.33–0.71), the number of referenced information sources utilized for COVID-19 was associated with attitudes towards children’s vaccination (OR 1.02; 95 % CI 1.00–1.04). Conclusion: The study highlights the multifaceted factors influencing parents’ COVID-19 vaccination attitudes for their children, encompassing socioeconomic, health, psychological, and informational aspects. Factors like cautious information gathering, vaccine concerns and diverse referenced information sources impact willingness. To facilitate informed decision-making, essential measures include government risk communication, widespread vaccine information dissemination, and enhancing parents’ health information accessibility and evaluation skills are important.
