BGU: Lack of maternal education linked to vaccine delays
No correlation was found between the level of paternal education and vaccination delays.
By SARA RUBENSTEINUpdated: NOVEMBER 7, 2018 14:12
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev found that uneducated women are more likely to delay the vaccines of their children or neglect vaccines altogether in a recently published study.Dr. Guy Hazan of BGU published a new study in The Journal of Pediatrics that showed an inverse link between mothers' education level and the probability of two-to-four year old children being fully vaccinated according to state recommendations.“We found that mothers' education was inversely associated with the probability of vaccination delay by 4%-9% (depending on the vaccination visit) for each year of schooling beyond 10 years,” the study wrote.Records were reviewed from 2,072 subjects at five well-baby centers in southern Israel, specifically at vaccines for hepatitis B, Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular, Pertussis (with or without Poliovirus vaccine), measles-mumps-rubella-varicella and hepatitis A.No correlation was found between the level of paternal education and vaccination delays.The conclusion of the researchers was that better education and an emphasis on the importance of scheduled vaccination could provide motivation for improvement in vaccinations as well as other healthcare issues.