Chickenpox is an ongoing health threat for young children. This study aimed to investigate varicella vaccination uptake among children and its determinants at both the individual and interpersonal levels. A cross-sectional survey of parents of children aged 0-15 years and with administrative health records was conducted between September and October 2024 in Shenzhen, China. Participants were recruited through multistage random sampling. This analysis was based on a subsample of 996 parents whose children were 1-10 years old and without a prior history of chickenpox. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted. Among the participants, 47.0% reported that their children had received a varicella vaccination. Parents who believed that chickenpox was highly contagious (adjusted odds ratios AOR: 1.62, 95% confidence interval CI: 1.23, 2.13), perceived more benefits (AOR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.41) and cues to action (AOR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.69), and exhibited greater self-efficacy (AOR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.80) related to children's varicella vaccination reported higher varicella vaccination uptake for their children. Greater perceived barriers related to vaccination (AOR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.83, 0.95) and dysfunctional interactions with children (AOR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.94, 0.99) were associated with lower varicella vaccination uptake for children. In addition, higher exposure to information encouraging parents to vaccinate their children against chickenpox (AOR: 1.24, 95%CI: 1.08, 1.41) and thoughtful consideration of the veracity of the information were associated with higher varicella vaccination uptake among children (AOR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.36). There is a strong need to promote varicella vaccination for children in China.
Peng et al. (Wed,) studied this question.