Study Title: Adolescent Immunisations: Information Needs of Parents
Dear Year 6 parents
You are invited to take part in this study because, while immunisation rates among adolescents in the ACT remain high compared to other jurisdictions, rates in some schools fall below the ACT average which may result in suboptimal health outcomes for adolescents. Possible reasons for this are lack of knowledge about the School Immunisation Program (which offers recommended vaccinations free of charge), parents may not be aware that written consent for immunisation is required and some parents may choose not to immunise. The research team aknowledge that parents have the right to choose to vaccinate their child, and that some parents may consider that immunisations are not in the best interests of their child's health. Before you decide to take part it is important for you to understand why the study is being done and what it will involve if you choose to take part. Please take the time to read the information carefully and ask the study team any questions you might have. Our contact details are at the end of this information sheet.
What are we doing?
Asking you what you know about immunisations and what you need to help you decide whether your adolescent child should receive immunisations through the School Immunisation Program. This information will help us develop and implement more useful resources about immunisations for parents of Year 6 children entering Year 7.
Why have I been chosen and what do I have to do if I choose to take part?
You have been chosen as you have at least one child in Year 6 who will be starting High School (Year 7) in 2016. We will ask you to complete 2 questionnaires either online or in paper copy and (if you choose), take part in a focus group.
Questionnaires
We are asking you to complete this first questionnaire (Survey 1) while your child is still in Year 6. We want to see how much you know about immunisations and the process by which they are given to your child at school in Year 7. In February 2016, we will ask you to complete a second questionnaire (Survey 2) to explore your knowledge of immunisations after you have been given a parent resource about the ACT School Immunisation Program. Each questionnaire should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Completion of this survey is implied consent to participate in the research study.
Focus group
At the end of this questionnaire we will ask you if you would like to take part in a focus group. The aim of this group is to further explore parents’ decision making around the immunisation of their child as part of the School Immunisation Program. There will be two focus groups (you only need to attend one). These focus groups will be held at one North side and one South side school, one in the morning and one in the evening. Light refreshments will be available. If you are interested in participating in one of the focus groups, please provide your name and contact details at the end of the survey and a member of the research team will contact you shortly with further details.
