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Masters Thesis Tara Weixel.pdf (791.34 KB)

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Vaccine Hesitancy For Parents of Adolescents with Down syndrome

Weixel, Tara Elizabeth
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0330-5112
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1650655555940679

Abstract Details

2022, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences.
Parental vaccine hesitancy causes lower childhood vaccination rates and higher instances of vaccine preventable diseases spreading. Thus, understanding why parents are vaccine hesitant can provide insight into their beliefs, and thus, supply health care providers a point of entry into how to talk about parents’ vaccine hesitant beliefs. This is especially true for parents of children with Down syndrome, who have been shown to have lower vaccination rates than the general population (Langkamp et al 2020). Furthermore, with the COVID pandemic in full swing and a COVID vaccine widely available, parental vaccine hesitancy surrounding the COVID vaccine is of importance. No studies have conducted research on the perception of the COVID vaccine by parents of children with DS. Therefore, this study aims to understand factors related to parents’ vaccine acceptance, vaccine hesitancy and vaccine refusal through a Health Belief Model lens in order to inform interventions to improve vaccine adherence and decrease the spread and/or severity of COVID among children with DS and society as a whole. An internet survey was disseminated to parents of adolescents with DS with questions pertaining to vaccines, vaccine hesitancy, and trust in different sources. Parents with less trust in doctors, scientists, and government agencies (i.e., the CDC, FDA, NIH, etc.) were more likely to be vaccine hesitant, compared to vaccine accepting parents. Perceived benefits and perceived barriers also significantly account for variance of parental vaccine hesitancy—with parents who perceive fewer benefits to COVID vaccination, and more barriers to COVID vaccinations being significantly more likely to be vaccine hesitant compared to parents who perceive more benefits to COVID vaccination, and less barriers to COVID vaccinations. Preliminary findings of the vaccine hesitant parents also suggest they are heterogenous in their beliefs. Future research should investigate the differences in beliefs among vaccine hesitant parents in order to tailor targeted messages to promote vaccine adherence to different types of vaccine hesitant people.
Beth Wildman (Advisor)
Jennifer Taber (Committee Member)
Amy Sato (Committee Member)
Diane Langkamp (Committee Member)
89 p.
Clinical Psychology; Psychology
Down syndrome, parents, adolescents, young adults, AYA, vaccine hesitancy, anti-vaccination, vaccine refusal, health belief model, trust

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Weixel, T. E. (2022). Vaccine Hesitancy For Parents of Adolescents with Down syndrome [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1650655555940679

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Weixel, Tara. Vaccine Hesitancy For Parents of Adolescents with Down syndrome. 2022. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1650655555940679.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Weixel, Tara. "Vaccine Hesitancy For Parents of Adolescents with Down syndrome." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1650655555940679

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1650655555940679
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.