Comparative analysis of the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) short scale and the five categories of vaccine acceptance identified by Gust et al.
BACKGROUND
There is a need to develop a standardized tool to aid in identifying, measuring and classifying the unique needs of vaccine-hesitant parents (VHPs). This will also assist in designing tailored interventions to address these needs. The Parental Attitude about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) short scale developed by Opel et al., and the Gust et al. vaccine acceptance categories have been acknowledged as potentially useful tools to measure parental vaccine hesitancy. The PACV short scale requires further validation. In our study, we evaluated how the Gust et al. vaccine acceptance categories correspond with the PACV short scale.


METHODS
As part of a larger study on vaccine attitudes, using the PACV short scale and Gust et al. vaccine acceptance categories, we assessed the correlation between the two measures using Spearman correlation coefficient, and the association between the two measures using the Cochran-Mantel-Haentszel test of association. We used logistic regression modelling to compare the association between a child's up-to-date immunization status and (a) PACV short scale and (b) Gust et al. vaccine acceptance categories.


RESULTS
The PACV short scale and Gust et al. vaccine acceptance categories were positively correlated (r=0.6, df=198, p<0.05), and the Cochran-Mantel-Haentszel test of association yielded a statistically significant association (p<0.05). The two scales similarly predicted children's up-to-date immunization status for all recommended childhood vaccines.


CONCLUSION
The ability of the PACV short scale to identify and classify parental vaccine hesitancy is similar to classification using Gust et al. vaccine acceptance categories, and both measure linear entities. The PACV short scale is recommended for screening parents at their first pediatric visit because it is easier to administer. A clearer understanding of how to classify parental vaccine hesitancy can be used to design tailored interventions based on these classifications, to address their specific needs.
['Oladejo|Omolade|O|', 'Allen|Kristen|K|', 'Amin|Avnika|A|', 'Frew|Paula M|PM|', 'Bednarczyk|Robert A|RA|', 'Omer|Saad B|SB|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D005260:Female D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice D006801:Humans D016015:Logistic Models D008297:Male D010290:Parents D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D014611:Vaccination D055815:Young Adult
Parental Attitude about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) Vaccine acceptance Vaccine hesitancy Childhood immunization