Table 1.
Background characteristics of public health professionals and parents
| Professionals (RPHS & CHC combined) | Parents | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical doctors (N = 162) | Nurses (N = 279) | Total (N = 441) | (N = 491) | |||||
| Background characteristics | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % |
| Sex | ||||||||
| Male | 37 | 22.8 | 13 | 4.7 | 50 | 11.3 | 90 | 18.3 |
| Female | 125 | 77.2 | 266 | 95.3 | 391 | 88.7 | 401 | 81.7 |
| Age | ||||||||
| Younger than 30 years | 8 | 5.0 | 30 | 10.9 | 38 | 8.7 | 94 | 19.1 |
| 30–34 years | 16 | 9.9 | 32 | 11.6 | 48 | 11.0 | 189 | 38.5 |
| 35–39 years | 16 | 9.9 | 26 | 9.4 | 42 | 9.6 | 148 | 30.1 |
| 40 years or older | 121 | 75.2 | 188 | 68.1 | 309 | 70.7 | 60 | 12.2 |
| Organisation | ||||||||
| Regional Public Health Service (RPHS) | 74 | 45.7 | 107 | 38.4 | 181 | 41.0 | - | - |
| Child Health Clinic (CHC) | 88 | 54.3 | 172 | 61.6 | 260 | 59.0 | - | - |
| Educationc | ||||||||
| Low | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 51 | 10.4 |
| Middle | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 166 | 33.8 |
| High | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 274 | 55.8 |
| Ethnicity | ||||||||
| Both parents born in the Netherlands | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 423 | 86.3 |
| At least one parent born in another country | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 67 | 13.7 |
| Net monthly household income | ||||||||
| Low (≤ €1150) | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 18 | 4.4 |
| Middle (€1151–€3050) | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 191 | 47.2 |
| High (≥ €3051) | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 196 | 48.4 |
| No answer | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 86 | |
| Household size | ||||||||
| < 4 persons | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 163 | 33.2 |
| 4 persons | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 228 | 46.4 |
| > 4 persons | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 100 | 20.4 |
| Number of children | ||||||||
| None | 31 | 19.1 | 73 | 26.2 | 104 | 23.6 | - | - |
| One child | 15 | 9.3 | 30 | 10.8 | 45 | 10.2 | 160 | 32.6 |
| Two children | 48 | 29.6 | 104 | 37.3 | 152 | 34.5 | 234 | 47.7 |
| More than two children | 68 | 42.0 | 72 | 25.8 | 140 | 31.7 | 97 | 19.8 |
| Participation of child(ren) in NIP? | ||||||||
| Yes, fully immunised | 124 | 96.1 | 185 | 90.7 | 309 | 92.8 | 465 | 94.7 |
| Yes, partially immunised | 4 | 3.1 | 19 | 9.3 | 23 | 6.9 | 13 | 2.6 |
| No, not immunised | 1 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.3 | 10 | 2.0 |
| Don’t know | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Change in opinion on vaccination?a | ||||||||
| No | 126 | 77.8 | 231 | 83.1 | 357 | 81.1 | 420 | 85.5 |
| Yes, more inclined | 14 | 8.6 | 16 | 5.8 | 30 | 6.8 | 9 | 1.8 |
| Yes, less inclined | 11 | 6.8 | 14 | 5.0 | 25 | 5.7 | 47 | 9.6 |
| Don’t know | 11 | 6.8 | 17 | 6.1 | 28 | 6.4 | 15 | 3.1 |
| Influence on opinion on vaccination? | ||||||||
| Anthroposophical philosophy | 1 | 0.6 | 7 | 2.6 | 8 | 1.9 | 8 | 1.6b |
| Homeopathic philosophy | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1.1 | 3 | 0.7 | 16 | 3.3b |
| Alternative medicine | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.5 | 10 | 2.0b |
| Religion | 1 | 0.6 | 3 | 1.1 | 4 | 0.9 | 26 | 5.3b |
| Other | 13 | 8.3 | 19 | 6.9 | 32 | 7.4 | 29 | 5.9b |
| None of the above | 141 | 90.4 | 240 | 87.6 | 381 | 88.6 | 417 | 84.9b |
RPHS = regional public health service; CHC = child health clinic
aWith respect to the five years preceding the survey
bPercentages add up to more than 100 % because a respondent can be within multiple categories
cLow: no, primary, lower vocational or lower secondary education; middle: secondary vocational or higher secondary education; high: higher professional or university education