Objective: To assess the information needs of parents regarding childhood immunizations, and their satisfaction with the Vaccine Information Pamphlets (VIPs).
Research design: Verbally administered, forced-choice survey of a representative sample.
Setting: Urban teaching hospital-primary care center (N = 73), neighborhood health center (N = 75), and a suburban private practice (N = 75).
Participants: Parents or guardians of children scheduled for routine checkups, aged 1 month to 18 years, presenting for routine health care maintenance visits.
Results: Of 227 parents, 223 completed the survey. Almost all (98%) had prior experience with their children's immunizations, and 7% reported a history of a "bad" experience. Most parents stated that it was "very important" to receive information about immunizations regarding: diseases prevented by the immunizations (89%); common side effects (91%); serious side effects (89%); contraindications (91%). Eighty percent of parents indicated they wanted immunization information discussed with each vaccination. Forty-three percent of the parents were familiar with the VIPs; of these, 88% reported that the amount of information was "just right," and 94% thought the VIPs were helpful. However, 29% thought the VIPs were either too long, or somewhat too long.
Conclusions: Parents indicate that they want information about many aspects of immunizations, and those familiar with the VIPs report high levels of satisfaction with the pamphlets.