Peer-reviewed article
Are children with special risk medical conditions receiving influenza vaccination? Validity of parental and provider report, and to a National Immunisation Register
Jane Tuckerman, Nigel W. Crawford, John William Lynch, Helen Siobhan Marshall ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether children with special medical conditions in Australia were receiving flu vaccinations and tested how accurately parents, healthcare providers, and national records reported these vaccinations. Researchers surveyed parents at a hospital and compared their reports with provider records and the national immunisation register. They found that parents often over-reported vaccinations, and that less than one-third of actual vaccinations were recorded in the national system.
Key points
- 78% of parent-reported flu vaccinations were confirmed by healthcare providers, with agreement ranging from good to very good (κ = 0.677-0.814)
- Parents over-reported vaccination status, with fathers over-reporting more than mothers
- Only 32.6% of flu vaccinations given by providers were recorded in the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR)
- Parental recall accuracy was affected by time elapsed and the relationship of the respondent to the child
- Incomplete reporting to the national register limits ability to evaluate vaccination program coverage
Limitations
The study was conducted at a single hospital in Adelaide with children attending for treatment of special risk medical conditions, so findings may not represent the general population of vaccinated children. The cross-sectional design cannot determine causation or track changes over time.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: To investigate the validity of parent reported influenza vaccination and provider reporting to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) in children with special risk medical conditions (SRMC). METHODS: Cross-sectional survey with parents of children with a SRMC aged ≥ 6 months and <18 years attending the Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, Australia from September 2015 to February 2016. Children aged <7 years provided data to assess provider-AIR reporting. Influenza vaccination status was ascertained from the child's parent, immunisation provider and the AIR. Concordance was made using the Kappa index and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated. RESULTS: 389 and 395 parent-provider influenza vaccination records were available for 2014 and 2015 respectively. 78% of parent reported vaccinations were substantiated by a provider with the kappa indicating good (κ = 0.677) to very good agreement (κ = 0.814) for 2014 and 2015 respectively. Discordance was higher in 2014, largely attributable to parents over reporting vaccination. More fathers over reported compared to mothers (Fisher's exact = 0.052). There were 241 provider-AIR influenza vaccination records. Sensitivity of the AIR to reflect a child's influenza immunisation status was low (32.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Parental report over estimates confirmed influenza vaccination status and is affected by time and relationship to the child. Only a third of influenza vaccinations were reported to the AIR. Timely accurate data is critical to facilitate vaccination and evaluate program coverage.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Assessment of influenza vaccination recording through three data sources: parental report, healthcare provider records, and the Australian Immunisation Register
- Population
- 389-395 children aged ≥6 months to <18 years with special risk medical conditions attending Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide
Key finding
Parental report substantiated by provider in 78% of cases with κ=0.677-0.814 concordance