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Children are almost four times more likely to be infected with Influenza than adults, shed the greatest quantities of Influenza virus, and have been recognized as vectors for spread of disease (Neuzil et al., 2000). During the Influenza season, health care providers see a 20% increase in office visits (Fiore et al., 2012) and are focusing their attention on prevention for healthy children who experience the majority of the 30-60 million infections every year (Thompson et al., 2003; CDC,2011). In 2010, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) expanded its Influenza vaccination recommendation for all children > 6 months who do not have contraindications, to be vaccinated annually. This recommendation also states that vaccine naïve children up to 9 years of age receive two doses of the Influenza vaccine (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2010).
In spite of these national recommendations, the Influenza immunization rate for school-age children is 50.5% (CDC, 2013). Parents’ misperceptions of Influenza disease and vaccinations are often cited as the reasons for the low vaccination rates (Bhat-Schelbert et al., 2012; Taylor et al., 2002; MacDonald et al., 2013; Salmon et al., 2005). Numerous studies have found that a practitioner’s recommendation has a positive effect on raising immunization rates (Cheffins et al., 2011; Gnanasekaren et al., 2006; Taylor et al., 2002; Soyer et al., 2011; Bhat-Schelbert, et al., 2012). Cost-effective and tailored interventions to enhance the partnership between parents and providers are urgently needed to promote Influenza vaccination in families with children (Cheffins et al., 2011). Promising results have been found when using the Health Belief Model (HBM) (Chen et al., 2011; Coe et al., 2009). The HBM is particularly useful for targeting parents’ misperceptions and enhancing the practitioner-parent relationship by increasing communication thru education (Coe et al., 2009).