The Ministry of Health recommends and subsidises a number of vaccinations to immunise New Zealand children against communicable diseases such as tetanus, polio, and measles (Ministry of Health, 2012a). To monitor national child immunisation rates, the Ministry of Health keeps an official record of the number of New Zealand children who are fully immunised for their age (Ministry of Health, 2012b).
In the Health Promotion Agency’s 2012 Health and Lifestyles Survey (HLS), we asked parents and caregivers about the immunisation of a child in their care. This fact sheet presents responses to these questions and compares parent/caregiver reports of child immunisation rates to those in the official Ministry of Health record.
Methodology
Respondents in the 2012 HLS who were parents or caregivers of children aged 5 to 16 years were asked two questions relating to the immunisation of a child in their care1. Responses to these questions were compared by parent/caregiver age, gender, ethnicity, neighbourhood deprivation status, educational background, and employment status; and by child age, gender, and ethnicity. Statistically significant differences (p < .05) are reported.
Child immunisation rates reported by parents/caregivers in the 2012 HLS were also compared to those in the Ministry of Health immunisation record from 2012 (Ministry of Health, 2012b).
Key Results
• The majority of parents/caregivers in New Zealand said that a child (aged 5 to 16 years) in their care had received all recommended vaccines.
• There were few group differences in reported rates of complete immunisation, although parents/caregivers of younger children (5 to 8 and 9 to 12-year-olds) were more likely than parents/caregivers of adolescents (13 to 16-year-olds) to say that their child had received all recommended vaccines.
• Parents/caregivers living in mid to high-deprivation areas were also more likely than parents/caregivers living in low-deprivation areas to report that their child had received all recommended vaccines.
• Parent/caregiver-reported rates of complete child immunisation appear to be higher than those recorded by the Ministry of Health.
• In some cases (child ethnicity, neighbourhood deprivation), patterns in parent/caregiver-reported child immunisation rates did not align with those observed in the Ministry of Health immunisation record.
• The majority of parents/caregivers in New Zealand had no concerns about recommended vaccines and this pattern did not change by demographic group.
• Of those who did have some concerns about vaccines, the most frequently reported concerns were related to perceived safety (eg, vaccines not tested enough, ingredients not safe).