Who missed the fourth dose of DTaP among children in the United States?

• Activity Number: 295
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 5, 2014 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Health Policy Statistics Section
• Author(s): Zhen Zhao*+ and Philip J. Smith
• Companies: CDC and CDC
• Keywords: immunization ; the fourth dose of DTaP ; missed vaccination ; pertussis ; parental attitude ; adjusted risk ratio

Abstract

In 2012, reported pertussis reached the highest number of cases (48,277) in the United States since 1955. In the United States, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends children to receive four doses of DTaP (diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis) vaccine administered at 2, 4, 6, and 15 to 18 months. The 4th dose of DTaP is among the commonly missed vaccines for children who are not adequately immunized, and it is critical in insuring continuous protection. However, parental attitudes associated with children missing the 4th dose of DTaP have not been fully investigated. Using data from the 2011 National Immunization Survey, weighted bivariate and logistic regression analyses in SUDAAN were applied to estimate the prevalence of children who missed the fourth dose of DTaP by parents' confidences in vaccines and influences from providers, the timeliness of the first through the third dose of DTaP, and selected sociodemographic characteristics; identify the significant risk factors for non-receipt of the fourth dose of DTaP; and evaluate the unadjusted and adjusted risk ratios for missing the fourth dose of DTaP.