Peer-reviewed article
Association of access and acceptance barriers with under- and non-vaccination of children <5 years in Australia: A national cross-sectional survey of parents.
Kaufman J, Steffens MS, Vidmar S, Bolsewicz KT, Leask J et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This Australian survey of 2,000 parents examined barriers preventing children under 5 from receiving routine vaccinations. Most children (94%) were fully vaccinated, but 4.5% were partially vaccinated and 1.5% unvaccinated. The most common barrier across all groups was parental distress about vaccination, while partially vaccinated children's parents reported difficulty accessing appointments and affording vaccines, and unvaccinated children's parents questioned vaccine safety.
Key points
- 94.0% of surveyed children were up-to-date with vaccination, 4.5% partially vaccinated, and 1.5% unvaccinated
- Feeling distressed when thinking about vaccination was the most common barrier, reported by 60.2% across all groups
- Parents of partially vaccinated children reported difficulty getting appointments (24.8% vs 8.5%) and affordability concerns (20.5% vs 10.4%) compared to parents of fully vaccinated children
- Acceptance barriers like beliefs about vaccine safety were more strongly associated with non-vaccination
- The study recommends prioritising interventions to address access issues like appointment costs alongside strategies to improve vaccine acceptance
Limitations
The survey was conducted online using a self-selected panel, which may not represent all Australian parents, particularly those with limited internet access. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or track how barriers change over time.
Abstract
Objectives Data on barriers to childhood vaccine uptake are needed to understand and address declining coverage. This study aimed to measure access and acceptance barriers to routine childhood vaccination faced by parents in Australia. Study design National cross-sectional online survey. Methods We recruited Australian parents/carers of children aged <5 years using an online panel from March-April 2024. We measured 15 access and acceptance barriers to routine childhood vaccine uptake using the validated Vaccine Barriers Assessment Tool. Parents reported their child's vaccination status (up-to-date, partially vaccinated, or unvaccinated) and demographics. We calculated prevalence of vaccination barriers and associations between barriers and parent location, financial stress, number of children, and child vaccination status. Data were weighted using the 2021 estimated resident parent population. Results Of 2000 parents surveyed, 94.0 % reported up-to-date child vaccination, 4.5 % partial, and 1.5 % unvaccinated. In all three vaccination status groups the most common barrier was feeling distressed when thinking about vaccination (60.2 % in total). Compared to parents of up-to-date children, the partially vaccinated group reported more access barriers like difficulty getting an appointment (24.8 % vs 8.5 %, PD 16.3 %, 95 % CI: 6.3-26.3) and affordability (20.5 % vs 10.4 %, PD 10.0 %, 95 % CI: 0.7-19.3). Acceptance barriers like not believing vaccines are safe were more associated with non-vaccination. Conclusions Along with strategies to improve vaccine acceptance, interventions addressing access issues like reducing appointment costs should be prioritised for partially vaccinated children. Annual assessment of social and behavioural barriers amenable to intervention will enable comparison over time to inform policy and practice.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Assessment of access and acceptance barriers to routine childhood vaccination using the validated Vaccine Barriers Assessment Tool
- Population
- Australian parents and carers of children aged <5 years (n=2,000), surveyed March-April 2024
Key finding
94.0% of children reported up-to-date vaccination status, 4.5% partially vaccinated, 1.5% unvaccinated
J et al. · Europe PMC · 3 Dec 2025