Learning Objectives for this Presentation:
By the end of the presentation participants will be able to identify:
Three immunization-related concerns raised most often by parents during office visits
Two factors associated with parents who raise immunization concerns during office visits
Two factors associated with overall parent satisfaction with office visits


Background:
Parents' immunization safety concerns are associated with lack of information. Healthcare practitioners are an important source of vaccine information for parents, but poor provider-patient communication may reduce satisfaction with care.

Objectives:
Identify characteristics of parents who raise vaccine concerns during office visits and assess overall parent satisfaction with office visits.

Methods:
Cross-sectional surveys were given to parents and healthcare practitioners after a specific child's office visit for immunization (encounter). Questions addressed attitudes toward immunization, topics discussed during the encounter, and parent satisfaction with information received and the overall visit. Parent demographic information was also collected. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with parents who raised vaccine concerns during the encounter and parent satisfaction with the overall encounter.

Results:
The concerns raised most often by parents were: child's pain/discomfort, number of injections given, and short-term side effects. Factors associated with parents raising a concern included: younger age of parents and having discussed immunizations with family members before the encounter. Factors associated with parents being very/extremely satisfied with the encounter included: being a parent who primarily spoke English, satisfaction with specific information received at the visit, and satisfaction with answers to their questions and concerns. The amount of time spent with the practitioner was not associated with overall parent satisfaction.

Conclusions:
Short-term, rather than long-term issues surrounding immunization safety were raised most often by parents during office visits. The quality and not the quantity of communication between parent and practitioner was associated with overall parent satisfaction with the encounter.