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Parental Opinions Regarding Poliomyelitis Immunizations

Department of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC

Benjamin A. Gitterman, MD

Rachel Y. Moon, MD

Department of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC; Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC

The successful eradication of poliomyelitis in the United States has primarily been due to the use of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). However, because of the risk of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis with OPV, the use of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) has become the accepted option. We performed a cross-sectional survey of parents of children less than 18 months of age to determine parental preference regarding poliomyelitis vaccine options. Parents were asked questions about their knowledge regarding poliomyelitis and available vaccines. Parents were also given information about the risks and benefits of the 3 immunization options (all OPV, all IPV, and sequential IPV/OPV) and then asked to choose among the 3 schedules. We distributed 146 questionnaires, with an 88% response rate. Parents were, on average, 22 years old and had 12 years of education. Fifty-eight percent of parents thought that decisions regarding vaccine choices should be made by the physician and caregiver together. However, when given the choice, 41% could not decide among the different vaccine options. One quarter (25%) chose the all OPV, 13% the all IPV, and 21% the sequential IPV/OPV schedule. Older parents were more likely to choose the all IPV schedule (p=0.042). There was no correlation with the parental level of education. More studies are required to determine if further education will empower urban parents to be more active participants in the medical decision process.

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