Relationship between parental vaccine literacy and their willingness to vaccinate children against influenza in china

Abstract

Background Influenza poses a significant global public health burden, particularly among pediatric populations. However, the coverage of influenza vaccination among Chinese children remains inadequate.Research design and methods This study explores the relationship between parental vaccine literacy and willingness to vaccinate their children against influenza. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted using an anonymous questionnaire. Vaccine literacy was measured by the Vaccine Health Literacy scale, and logistic regression with mediation analyses was used to identify influencing factors.Results Among 6,177 participants, 94.67% expressed willingness to vaccinate their children. Higher vaccine literacy, especially interactive vaccine literacy, was positively associated with willingness and mediated key predictors. Male parents (OR = 1.408, p = 0.034) with prior vaccination history (OR = 6.402, p < 0.001) were more likely to vaccinate, while those with younger age (OR = 0.959, p < 0.001) and lower education (OR = 0.587, p < 0.001) were less likely to vaccinate.Conclusions Our study found that parents’ vaccine literacy, particularly interactive vaccine literacy, shows a potential association with their willingness to vaccinate their children against influenza. Targeted interventions aimed at improving parental vaccine literacy and addressing their vaccine hesitancy are critical for enhancing influenza vaccination coverage among children.

Keywords

• Influenza vaccine
• Children
• vaccine hesitancy
• vaccine literacy
• Vaccination willingness