Parental anxiety and pediatric vaccine refusal in a US national sample of parents

Understanding vaccine hesitancy among parents is of emerging interest and of rising importance for promoting vaccine uptake to prevent pediatric illness. Here, we examine associations between pediatric vaccine refusal and parental symptoms of anxiety. Our cross-sectional survey assessed pediatric vaccine refusal in 1699 parents in a US national sample. Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale, and symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7). The prevalence of pediatric vaccine refusal was 15.5 %. Parent symptoms of anxiety were related to vaccine refusal (OR = 1.07 [1.03, 1.10]). Mild (1.88 [1.39, 2.54], p