A pre and post intervention study measuring the effect of interactive education on adolescent perceptions of vaccines, vaccine safety and disease risk.

BACKGROUND:Adolescents make decisions about their own vaccinations and will be the childhood vaccine decision makers of tomorrow. It is therefore essential to educate adolescents about the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization safety. This study evaluated the impact of an interactive education initiative among adolescents at a high school in North Bay Ontario. METHODS:An anonymized questionnaire to assess students' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases was administered before and after delivering an interactive session. Chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed to test for differences between pre and post responses. RESULTS:The intervention increased the students' awareness that measles is a disease that affects their generation (P < 0.05). Improvements were also noted in the perceived risk of pertussis (P < 0.05) and tetanus (0.05). After the session, respondents were also more willing to participate with their parents in decisions affecting their healthcare (P < 0.05). Students' perception of vaccine safety also improved (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:Post survey results suggest that the interactive educational intervention had a positive effect on the adolescents' perceptions and attitudes towards immunization. Further research is required to determine the impact of this type of intervention on adolescents' future decision-making with respect to immunization.