Perceived information trustworthiness and parents' risk perceptions regarding childhood seasonal influenza vaccination in Hong Kong

Abstract

Introduction: With the increasing access to a spectrum of information regarding influenza vaccination from various sources, parents’ trust in information from these sources is crucial for their decision-making on children’s influenza vaccination. This study examined how perceived trustworthiness of information from different sources was associated with parental risk perceptions regarding childhood seasonal influenza vaccination. Methods: 1,389 parents of young children (aged 6 months-6 years) completed a randomly dialled telephone interview based on a standardized questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) extracted factors underlying information trust while logistic regression models enabled examining how perceived information trustworthiness was associated with risk perceptions of childhood influenza and influenza vaccination. Results: Two factors related to information trust were extracted: trust in formal sources (government-agency sources) (Cronbach’s α=0.79) and trust in peers (α=0.76). Parents with an educational level of ≥tertiary had more trust in formal information sources (OR=1.31, 95%CI: 1.02-1.68) but less trust in peers (OR=0.78, 95%CI: 0.63-0.97). Parents aged ≥45 years were less likely to trust peers (OR=0.57, 95%CI: 0.41-0.78). After adjustment for parental demographics, trust in formal information sources was positively associated with perceived child susceptibility to influenza (OR=1.33, 95%CI: 1.01-1.74), perceived benefit (OR=1.61, 95%CI: 1.24-2.08) and safety (OR=1.65, 95%CI: 1.25-2.17) of influenza vaccination for children, while more trust in peers was associated with feeling more anxious about the child being infected with influenza (OR=1.40, 95%CI: 1.11-1.76). Conclusions: Information from formal sources appears associated with cognitive risk evaluation while that from peers is more associated with affective risk response.