title: Forgone vaccination during childhood and adolescence: findings of a statewide survey of parents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Widespread immunization confers both individual- and community-level protection against vaccine-preventable diseases. To better understand vaccine hesitancy, we assessed correlates of forgone vaccination for children and adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed weighted data from the 2010 Child Health Assessment and Monitoring Program survey of North Carolina parents (n=1,847) of children ages 1-17.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 12% of parents reported having refused or delayed a vaccine for their child. Forgone vaccination was more common for young children than for teenagers (16% versus 8%) and for children born before rather than on/after their due dates (16% versus 10%). Parents with high (versus low) scores on an index of healthy feeding practices were also more likely to report forgone vaccination (17% versus 5%). The most common reason for forgoing vaccines was concern about safety (34%). Other reasons included believing the child did not need (18%) or was too young (13%) for the vaccine, or that the child was sick (10%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Forgoing vaccines is more common among parents who are socially advantaged and highly attentive to their children's health in other areas such as nutrition. Providers should reassure parents of premature or sick children that such circumstances are not typically contraindications to vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, CB# 7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. gilkey@email.unc.edu
authors.forename: Melissa B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Gilkey
authors.forename: Annie-Laurie
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: McRee
authors.forename: Noel T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Brewer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009657:North Carolina; D010290:Parents; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*