Research and analysis

Childhood vaccines: parental attitudes survey 2019 findings

Published 16 November 2022

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-vaccines-parental-attitudes-survey-2019/findings-from-the-2019-survey

2019 survey

Public Health England (PHE) – now the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) – commissioned the marketing research organisation BMG Research to undertake a survey to find out what parents think about vaccination. Face-to-face interviews were conducted between January and April 2019.

Interviewers approached people at their home address and identified eligible parents of children aged 2 months to 4 years old.

A total of 1,735 interviews were completed among parents of children aged 0 to 4 years. This included 1,058 parents of children aged 0 to 2 years and 1,007 parents of 3 to 4 year olds, which included 330 parents who had a child in both age groups.

Findings from the survey

A. Parents have a high level of satisfaction with the childhood vaccination programme:

  • 92% of parents were satisfied with their vaccination experience
  • 95% with the information provided by the nurse at the visit
  • 95% with getting information before the visit
  • 92% with the amount of waiting time
  • 91% with making the appointment

B. Parents have a high level of confidence in the programme:

  • 95% have confidence in the programme
  • 92% of parents of 0 to 4 year olds had all vaccinations done when due
  • 91% agree vaccines are effective
  • 90% agree they trust vaccines

C. Parents have a high level of trust in vaccination information received from healthcare professionals:

  • 94% trust information they receive from healthcare professionals and the NHS
  • 59% family and friends
  • 38% newspapers, magazines, TV and radio
  • 34% the internet
  • 22% social media
  • 90% of parents who used the internet to find out more about vaccinations were using the recommended sites, such as the NHS Website
  • 54% NHS leaflets
  • 49% Red book (Personal Child Health Record (PCHR))
  • 23% of parents had used the internet to find out more information about vaccinations

Resources

Infographics and videos of the findings are available to download.

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