Parental awareness and attitudes towards prevention of respiratory syncytial virus in infants and young children in Australia

Aims To assess parental awareness of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the level of acceptance of future RSV prevention strategies. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was implemented targeting “future” and “current” parents of children aged ≤5 years in Australia. Results From 1,992 eligible participants, two non-mutually exclusive subgroups were formed; “current” parents (N=1931) and “pregnant/planning” parents (N=464; 403 also “current” parents; 61 “future” parents). Participants were predominantly (86.6%) aged 25-39 years and 68.5% with university education. The majority (89.6% current; 78.7% future) had heard of RSV. Of those, 64.2% (current) and 50.0% (future) were aware that pneumonia is associated with RSV; 71.8% (current) and 52.1% (future) were aware that bronchiolitis is associated. In multivariable logistic regression analyses, Australian-born parents (aOR=2.47 [95%CI:1.48-4.12]), living in the Eastern States (e.g., New South Wales: aOR=6.15 [95%CI:2.10-18.04]), with a university level education (aOR=2.61 [95%CI:1.38-4.94]) and being a current parent (aOR=12.26 [95%CI:2.82-53.28]) were associated with higher RSV awareness. There was a high level of acceptance for maternal vaccines (future: 79.3%) and infant immunisation (all: 81.7%). Conclusion While RSV awareness and immunisation acceptance was high, there was limited knowledge of severity of RSV, especially in future parents. Education campaigns need to be developed to increase RSV knowledge. Key notes The success of RSV immunisation programs is dependent on the community having sufficient disease awareness and acceptance of new immunisation strategies. Majority of parents in the study had heard of RSV, however lacked awareness on associated conditions and disease severity, particularly future parents. Education and awareness campaigns are required to inform parents about RSV and future immunisations; there is a critical opportunity to increase awareness prior to immunisation arrival.