Vaccine aversion is a major threat to public health. It has received a great deal of attention in North America and Europe, but even less so in Arab countries. The Parent Attitudes regarding Childhood Vaccines (PACV) survey is a validated method for recognising vaccine-hesitant parents. The aim of this study was to decide the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy among parents in the United Arab Emirates and to assess the reliability of the PACV survey in Arabic (UAE). Parents with children tested the reliability of the Arabic-PACV survey. The same survey was used to research the hesitation of vaccines among parents in seven outpatient health centres in Al-Ain District, UAE. The links between vaccine hesitation and socio-demographic characteristics were investigated. Arabic-PACV ratings of the Cronbach alpha amounted to 0.79. The survey was completed by 300 participants. In the age group 30–49years were the Emirati mothers. Vaccine-resistance was observed in just 36 parents. Parents were primarily worried about adverse reactions, vaccine protection and injection levels. Vaccine hesitancy was correlated strongly with divorced marital status.
The Arabic-PACV survey may be used to evaluate parents in UAE and other Arabic-speaking countries’ vaccine hesitation. Targeted preventive action is essential.
Reference: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2020.1753439
