AUTHOR=Wen Li Ming , Xu Huilan , Rissel Chris , Kerr Erin , Buchanan Limin , Taki Sarah , Phongsavan Philayrath , Chua Reuel Kangjie , Hua Myna , Wardle Karen , Simone Lisa , Hayes Alison , Baur Louise A. 

TITLE=Demographic Predictors of Mothers' Willingness to Vaccinate Young Children Against COVID-19, Get Tested and Isolate: A Cross-Sectional Survey Before and During the Greater Sydney Lockdown 2021, Australia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.904495

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.904495

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background and Objectives: Having a COVID-19 vaccination, getting tested and self-isolating if symptomatic are some of the most important mitigation strategies for preventing the spread of COVID-19. This study aimed to investigate whether demographic factors are associated with mothers’ willingness to vaccinate their 4-year-old children against COVID-19 if a suitable vaccine becomes available or to get tested and self-isolate if they themselves have COVID-19 symptoms and whether the willingness could be influenced by the Greater Sydney lockdown 2021.

Methods: A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted between 24th February and 26th October 2021.  The survey involved 604 mothers of children aged 4 years who participated in an existing trial in Sydney, Australia.
 
Results: Mothers were more willing to vaccinate their child when the child’s father had a tertiary education or higher, with adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.60 (95% CI 1.67 to 4.04). Mothers who were older than 30 years or who completed the survey during the lockdown were more willing to get tested if symptomatic, with AOR 2.50 (95% CI 1.17 to 5.36) and AOR 3.36 (95% CI 1.41 to 8.02), respectively. Mothers who were married or had de-facto partners were more willing to self-isolate if symptomatic (AOR 17.15 [95% CI 3.56 to 82.65]). 

Conclusion: Fathers’ educational level, mothers’ age and marital status were associated with mothers’ willingness to vaccinate their young children if a suitable vaccine were available, to get tested and self-isolate if symptomatic respectively. The promotion of mitigation strategies for tackling COVID-19 pandemic needs to take into account specific family demographics.