Peer-reviewed article
Parents' perceived safety, usability, and acceptability of vaccination through microarray patches: A preliminary multi-national cross-sectional survey.
Matthew N Berger, Erin Mathieu, Cristyn Davies, Ramon Z Shaban, Shopna Bag et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study surveyed 102 parents across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand about their views on microarray patches (MAPs), a new needle-free vaccination technology. Parents rated MAP vaccination highly on safety, ease of use, and acceptability compared to traditional needle and syringe methods. They particularly valued MAPs for children with needle anxiety and were willing to pay more for their children to receive this type of vaccination. Overall, parents perceived MAPs as a safe and acceptable alternative to conventional vaccination.
Key points
- Parents rated MAP vaccination as safe and effective (mean 5.13 on 7-point scale), easy to use (mean 5.51), and acceptable (mean 5.43)
- Respondents preferred MAPs over traditional needle and syringe methods for both themselves and their children
- Parents cited particular benefits for those with needle-related anxiety
- Preference for healthcare provider administration of MAPs to children was stronger than for self-administration
- Parents indicated greater willingness to pay more for their child to receive MAP vaccination compared to themselves
Limitations
This is a preliminary cross-sectional survey with a small sample size (102 parents) predominantly from Canada and Australia, so findings may not represent all populations or be generalizable globally. The study measures only parental perceptions and acceptability, not actual vaccination outcomes, uptake rates, or clinical effectiveness.
Abstract
Microarray patches (MAPs) are an emerging, needle-free vaccination technology with potential to improve vaccine uptake and acceptability. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted to assess parents' perceptions of MAP safety, usability, and acceptability for themselves and their children. Participants were parents of children aged ≤18 y residing in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, or New Zealand. Responses were recorded on a 7-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were used for analysis. A total of 102 parents participated (mean age = 40.7 y, SD = 10.6), predominantly from Canada (59.8%) and Australia (35.3%). Parents rated MAP vaccination as safe and effective (mean = 5.13; 95% CI: 4.83-5.43), easy to use (mean = 5.51; 95% CI: 5.26-5.77), and acceptable (mean = 5.43; 95% CI: 5.18-5.68). Respondents preferred MAPs over traditional needle and syringe (N&S) methods for themselves and their children, particularly citing benefits for those with needle-related anxiety. Parents expressed stronger preferences for healthcare provider administration for children compared to themselves. MAP self-administration was also viewed positively. Participants indicated greater willingness to pay more for their child to receive the MAP vaccination compared to themselves. Findings suggest that parents perceive MAPs as a safe, usable, and acceptable alternative to N&S vaccination for themselves and their children.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Microarray patch (MAP) vaccination as an alternative needle-free delivery technology
- Population
- 102 parents of children aged ≤18 years residing in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, or New Zealand (mean parental age 40.7 years)
Key finding
Parents rated MAP vaccination as safe and effective (mean = 5.13; 95% CI: 4.83-5.43)
Berger et al. · PubMed (US National Library of Medicine) · 10 Mar 2026