Understanding childhood vaccination uptake amongst low-income families
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Socioeconomically disadvantaged parents’ experiences of accessing childhood vaccination services in England: a qualitative longitudinal cohort study
IRAS ID
319648
Contact name
Georgia Chisnall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
England offers parents one of the most comprehensive immunisation programmes in the world. However, the success of this programme could be improved with greater vaccine uptake and timeliness. Contrary to common belief, ‘anti-vaxxers’ are not a major concern in the UK. One study found that out of the 10% of parents who miss immunisations when due, that only 2% were due to vaccine refusal. Instead, for most parents with under or unvaccinated infants, service underutilisation reflects challenges associated with accessing services.
While this issue is gaining increasing recognition, research on parental vaccination behaviour remains heavily focused on vaccine attitudes, overlooking the more prevalent issue of access. This study aims to address this research gap, exploring socioeconomically disadvantaged parents’ experiences of accessing childhood vaccination services in England. To do so, it enlists a qualitative longitudinal (QL) research design with a cohort of parents from the birth of their child to age one. QL methods are credited with capturing complex social processes, revealing not only how a journey unfolds, but also how it is driven, managed, and experienced. Across a sample this can reveal how and why life course trajectories (in this instance vaccination journeys) take shape. Data will be collected through interviewing, life maps (i.e., drawing), and diary keeping.
Through developing our understanding of the mechanisms which drive socioeconomically disadvantaged parents’ vaccination behaviours, and their needs, public health bodies will be better equipped to strive for equitable vaccine access. Ultimately, improving timely access to childhood immunisation services would have significant implications for vaccine uptake and by extension reduce the prevalence of vaccine-preventable diseases. Furthermore, the study seeks to use powerful storytelling modes of dissemination and contribute to empirical literature on QL methodology.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/PR/1465
Date of REC Opinion
16 Dec 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion