ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION
ALL KIDS COUNT

^{Results from Omnibus Survey on Immunization Registries
Conducted September 29 to October 10, 1999
October 18, 1999}

1. INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY

From September 29 to October 10, 1999, U.S. adults with children under the age of 6 were surveyed to gather information on their perceptions concerning immunization registries. The objectives of this survey were:

• To determine parents perception of benefits of immunization registries;
• To gauge parents willingness to enlist their child in a registry; and
• To assess barriers that would prevent parents from entering their child in a registry.

To accomplish these objectives, a total of 432 parents with children under the age of 6 were surveyed by International Communications Research (ICR). Results were weighted to provide nationally representative estimates that can be projected to the population of adults with children under the age of six.

The following Section 2 summarizes the key findings from this survey.

2. KEY FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS

• The majority of respondents believes immunization registries are beneficial and would enroll their child if their doctor recommended it. Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they would want their child in a registry if their doctor recommended it.
• After hearing the benefits, a significant number of respondents (20%) are still not convinced of the beneficial value of registries, due to privacy or safety concerns, or simply because they feel it is not necessary because they can keep their own records. Interestingly, however, older and more educated parents tend to be more skeptical of these benefits.
• Respondents who were women, young, low income, low education, and African American are more convinced of the value of registries and are more likely to be in favor of their doctors accessing and updating information in these registries. Parents from each of these groups are more likely to believe the registry will assist their doctors in tracking previous immunizations and vaccines as well as protecting their child from receiving extra shots due to lost paper records. Furthermore, parents in these groups may not feel they have effective and reliable means to safeguard their child's immunization records and therefore feel a registry system would be most beneficial to maintaining records that are accurate and easily accessible to their doctors.

3. DETAILED FINDINGS

3.1 General Public

3.1.1 Registries can help your doctor to send you a reminder when your child is due for another shot

As shown in Table 1, a majority of respondents (78%) think a registry can help your doctor to send you a reminder when your child is due for another shot while 10% do not agree with this statement.

Table 1. Registries can help your doctor to send you a reminder when your child is due for another shot

% Beneficial (Summary Top 2 Boxes) 78 Neutral (Summary middle boxes) 10 Not beneficial (Summary Bottom 2 Boxes) 11 Don't know/refused 1

^{3.1.2 A registry can help your doctor automatically produce a shot record if you lose it, move to a different area, or change doctors}

Similarly, as is shown in Table 2, 78% believe a registry can help your doctor automatically produce a shot record if you lose it, move to a different area, or change doctors while 11% disagree with this statement

Table 2. A registry can help your doctor automatically produce a shot record if you lost it, move to a different area, or change doctors

% Beneficial (Summary Top 2 Boxes) 78 Neutral (Summary middle boxes) 10 Not beneficial (Summary Bottom 2 Boxes) 11 Don't know/refused 1

^{3.1.3 A registry can help your doctor easily produce a shot record for school, day care, or camp}

Table 3 illustrates that more than three quarters (77%) believe a registry can help your doctor easily produce a shot record for school, day care, or camp. A minority of respondents (10%) disagrees with this statement.

Table 3. A registry can help your doctor easily produce a shot record for school, day care, or camp

% Beneficial (Summary Top 2 Boxes) 77 Neutral (Summary middle boxes) 11 Not beneficial (Summary Bottom 2 Boxes) 10 Don't know/refused 1

^{3.1.4 A registry collects information that may help them improve vaccine safety}

Seventy nine percent say a registry collects information that may help them improve vaccine safety while only 7% do not believe this statement. Table 4 presents these findings.

Table 4. A registry collects information that may help them improve vaccine safety

% Beneficial (Summary Top 2 Boxes) 79 Neutral (Summary middle boxes) 12 Not beneficial (Summary Bottom 2 Boxes) 7 Don't know/refused 1

^{3.1.5 A registry helps your child avoid extra shots if your paper record gets lost}

As shown in table 5, the majority believes a registry helps your child avoid extra shots if your paper record gets lost while a few (9%) disagreed with this statement.

Table 5. A registry helps your child avoid extra shots if your paper record gets lost.

% Beneficial (Summary Top 2 Boxes) 81 Neutral (Summary middle boxes) 9 Not beneficial (Summary Bottom 2 Boxes) 9 Don't know/refused 1

3.2 Registry Enrollment

3.2.1 I would want my child in a registry if my doctor recommended it

After hearing these benefits, the majority (79%) also mentioned that they would enter their child into a registry if their doctor recommended it. Twenty percent of parents, however, are uncertain about the benefits of registries. Table 6 outlines these findings.

Table 6. I would want my child in a registry if my doctor recommended it

% Yes 79 No 15 Don't know/refused 5

^{Those who said they would not want their child enrolled in a registry cited their main reasons as concern about the security or privacy of the registry (37%) or felt they didn't need it (33%) or could keep their own records.}

% (N=90) Concern about security or privacy of registry 37 Don't need it/Keep our own records 33 Concerned the information in registry could be misused 13 Doctor keeps records 12 Opposed to computerized medical information systems 7 Opposed to immunizations 1 Other 5 Don't know/refused 11

^{3.3 Audience Segments}

3.3.1 Gender

Compared to men, women are more likely to believe that registries have a beneficial value for their children. They are more likely than men to say registries help doctors to:

• Automatically produce a shot record if you lose it, move to a different area, or change doctors (82% vs. 72%); and
• Easily produce an official shot record for school, day care, or camp (80% vs. 73%).

They are also more likely to believe that registries:

• Collect information that may help improve vaccine safety (82% vs. 76%); and
• Help your child to avoid extra shots if your paper record gets lost (85% vs. 74%).

Finally, women are more likely than men to say they would enter their child in a registry if their doctor recommended it (81% vs. 76%).

3.3.2 Age

Overall, being in favor of immunization registries decreases with age. Younger parents (ages 18-24) are more likely than older parents (ages 35+) to believe registries help doctors to:

• Send you a reminder when your child is due for a shot (88% vs. 73%);
• Automatically produce a shot record if you lose it, move to a different area, or change doctors (83% vs. 74%); and
• Easily produce an official shot record for school, daycare, or camp (86% vs. 73%).

Younger parents are also significantly more likely than older parents to believe a registry helps your child avoid extra shots if your paper record gets lost (93% vs. 74%).

The likelihood of enrolling a child in an immunization registry also decreases with age, ranging from 88% for 18-24 year old parents to 76% for parents ages 35 and older.

3.3.3 Income

Being in favor of immunization registries generally decreases with income. Parents in the lowest income bracket are more likely than parents in the higher income bracket to believe a registry would be beneficial for their children.

Parents in the lowest income bracket (under $15,000) are more likely than those in the highest income bracket ($50,000 and above) to believe a registry can help your doctor to:

• Can help your doctor to send you a reminder when your child is due for a shot (91% vs. 72%);
• Collects information that may help improve vaccine safety (90% vs. 79%);
• Helps your child to avoid extra shots if your paper record gets lost (92% vs. 79%);
• Automatically produce a shot record if you lose it, move to a different area, or change doctors (88% vs. 74%); and
• Easily produce an official shot record for school, daycare, or camp (86% vs. 73%).

^{3.3.4 Education}

Similarly, believing in the benefits of registries and the willingness to enroll a child decreases with education. Parents with less education are more likely than parents with more education to believe a registry will be beneficial to their children. Parents in the lowest education bracket (high school degree or less) are more likely than parents in the highest education bracket (college degree or more) to say a registry:

• Helps your doctor to send you a reminder when your child is due for a shot (82% vs. 62%);
• Helps your doctor to easily produce an official shot record for school, daycare, or camp (80% vs. 71%);
• Helps your child to avoid extra shots if your paper record gets lost (84% vs. 70%); and
• Collects information that may help improve vaccine safety (85% vs. 73%).

^{Parents with the least amount of education (high school degree or less) are more likely than parents with the most amount of education (college degree or more) to say they would enroll their child in a registry if their doctor recommended it (84% vs. 70%).}

3.3.5 Race

Overall, African American parents are more likely to believe that immunization registries would be beneficial to their children than Caucasian parents. They are more likely to believe a registry can:

• Help your doctor to send you a reminder when your child is due for a shot (86% vs. 75%);
• Help your doctor to easily produce an official shot record for school, daycare, or camp (88% vs. 75%);
• Help your child to avoid extra shots if your paper record gets lost (91% vs. 79%); and
• Collects information that may help improve vaccine safety (88% vs. 78%)

^{Finally, they would be more likely than Caucasian respondents to enroll their child in a registry if their doctor recommended it (91% vs. 77%).}

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