BACKGROUND:
There is a substantial body of research focusing on the effects of disability for the individual but little has been done to examine the impact of parental disability on childhood immunizations.

OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the influence of parental disability on children's healthcare as measured by the timely receipt of childhood immunizations.

METHOD:
Observations on 11,997 children were obtained from the 1994 and 1995 United States National Health Interview Surveys representing 27,534,841 children when weighted. The data were analyzed using logistic regression.

RESULT:
Children living with a parent who is unable to provide his or her own personal care are 65% less likely to be immunized on time than children who live with parent(s) who do not have a disability. Children in mother-only families are 40% less likely and 60% less likely in father-only families. Poverty imposes a direct penalty on childhood immunization while in high-income families children are about 25% more likely to receive their immunizations on time. Children whose parents have some college are about 35% more likely to receive the recommended vaccines than those whose parents did not complete a high school. Black children are 40% less likely to be immunized compared to their white counterparts.

CONCLUSION:
Findings suggest that the disability of a parent does extend to other family members and, in particular, impacts the timely immunization of dependent children. These findings argue for research and policy to address the full scope of the impact of disability on childhood immunizations.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
This research presents findings on a previously unstudied factor affecting childhood immunization rates and offers suggestions for policy changes that address the larger issues of child immunization and child health in families where there is a parent with a disability.