None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Infants are susceptible to a large number of illnesses and diseases. As a result, Australia has a strict protocol for immunising infants and young children at various ages. One of the few immunisations which is not mandatory for infants is the influenza vaccine. Influenza is often perceived as an 'adult' illness, however, as with many illnesses infants are even more susceptible than adults and it is recommended that both children and adults are immunised annually. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Victoria are considered a high-risk group for illnesses such as influenza and as a a result, the vaccine is offered for free for Indigenous infants and children and has been so since 2010. Unfortunately, the rate of immunisation is only around 2% which means many children are at risk of contracting this preventable disease. The aim of this project is to develop and test different messages for parents of Indigenous children to educate and encourage them to seek out the free flu vaccine for their infant/young child.
Interventions
A. Mailed letter addressed to parents / guardians of indigenous children under 5 years of age residing in Victoria, Australia. The letter states that indigenous children under 5 are eligible to receive a free influenza vaccine, outlines why vaccination is important and encourages the parent / guardian to arrange this with a local healthcare provider. The letter is a standard letter with text only.
B. Mailed pamphlet addressed to parents / guardians of indigenous children under 5 years of age r
A. Mailed letter addressed to parents / guardians of indigenous children under 5 years of age residing in Victoria, Australia. The letter states that indigenous children under 5 are eligible to receive a free influenza vaccine, outlines why vaccination is important and encourages the parent / guardian to arrange this with a local healthcare provider. The letter is a standard letter with text only. B. Mailed pamphlet addressed to parents / guardians of indigenous children under 5 years of age residing in Victoria, Australia. The pamphlet states that indigenous children under 5 are eligible to receive a free influenza vaccine, outlines why vaccination is important and encourages the parent / guardian to arrange this with a local healthcare provider. The pamphlet contains similar information to the letter in group A, but is presented using text + illustrations rather than text only. For intervention groups, one letter (group A) or pamphlet (group B) was delivered by surface mail early in the influenza season in Victoria (May 17 2017) . Eligible parents / guardians were identified through the Australian Immunisation Registry (AIR) by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Sponsors
Monash University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
16 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Parents / guardians of indigenous (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander) infants / children aged between 6 months and 5 years of age and residing in Victoria, Australia. This trial recruited participants (parents of indigenous children aged 6 months – 5 years) through the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). This registry records all immunisations given at general practices, community clinics and other providers since Sep 30 2016 on a national database which can be accessed by state and territory health departments. AIR is an ‘opt-out’ registry – the uses of the data are made public, and those who do not want their information shared with third parties can opt out. (see: https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/medicare/australian-immunisation-register#group-128 ). The participants were recruited behalf of the researchers through the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and sent one of two forms of communication encouraging them to make an appointment for a free influenza vaccine for their child. It was not possible for DHHS to identify the birthdates of the parents on the AIR database. Therefore, parents of eligible infants for this trial aged under 18 years of age were not excluded from this study.
Exclusion criteria
Parents / guardians of NON-indigenous infants / children
Outcome results
None listed