Beyond the verbal: Pregnant women's preferences for receiving influenza and Tdap vaccine information from their obstetric care providers

ABSTRACT

Objective: Prenatal providers are pregnant women's most trusted sources of health information, and a provider's recommendation is a strong predictor of maternal vaccine receipt. However, other ways women prefer receiving vaccine-related information from prenatal providers, aside from face-to-face conversations, is unclear. This study explores what secondary communication methods are preferred for receiving maternal vaccine-related information. Study design: Obstetric patients at four prenatal clinics around Atlanta, Georgia received a 27-item survey between May 5th, 2016 and June 15th, 2016. Participants were asked about sources they currently use to obtain prenatal health information and their preferences for receiving vaccine-related information from providers. Descriptive statistics were calculated and chi-square tests were used to evaluate associations between participant characteristics and outcomes. Results: Women primarily reported using the CDC website (57.7%) and pregnancy-related websites (53.0%) to obtain vaccine information. Apart from clinical conversations, educational brochures (64.9%) and e-mails (54.7%) were the preferred methods of receiving vaccine information from providers, followed by their provider's practice website (42.1%). Communication preferences and interest in maternal immunization varied by race/ethnicity, age and education; white women were twice as likely to want information on a provider's practice website compared to African-American women (OR = 2.06; 95% CI: 1.31, 3.25). Conclusions: Pregnant women use the Internet for information about vaccines, but they still value input from their providers. While e-mails and brochures were the preferred secondary modes of receiving information, a provider's existing practice website offers a potential communications medium that capitalizes on women's information seeking behaviors and preferences while limiting burden on providers.

KEYWORDS:

• communication
• influenza
• maternal vaccines
• provider
• Tdap

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Additional information

Funding

This publication was supported under cooperative agreement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Collaboration with Academia to Strengthen Public Health Workforce Capacity (grant no. 3 U36 OE000002-04S05) funded by the CDC, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, through the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC, the Department of Health and Human Services or the ASPPH.