Parent-Reported Reasons for Nonreceipt of Recommended Adolescent Vaccinations, National Immunization Survey—Teen, 2009

OBJECTIVES: To identify parent-reported reasons for non-receipt of adolescent vaccinations by provider recommendation status. METHODS: Parental reasons for non-receipt of adolescent vaccines were analyzed among adolescents 13-17 years using data from the 2009 National Immunization Survey-Teen (n=20,066). RESULTS: Among unvaccinated adolescents, 87.9% (Td/Tdap), 90.9% (MenACWY), and 66.0% (HPV) of parents reported that they did not receive a healthcare provider recommendation for their adolescent to receive the vaccine. Among those without a provider recommendation, the most common reasons for not receiving the vaccines were 'vaccine not recommended' [Td/Tdap, MenACWY] and 'not needed' [HPV]. Among those with a recommendation, the most common parental reasons were 'lack of knowledge' [Td/Tdap], 'vaccine not needed' [MenACWY], and 'lack of knowledge' [HPV]. CONCLUSIONS: Non-receipt of provider recommendations was a main parent-reported reason for not getting vaccinated. Increasing parental knowledge and vaccination coverage through increased provider-parent communication about disease risk and vaccine benefits is needed.