Maternal Anxiety during Child Vaccination and Its Factors

Background and objectives: Maternal anxiety during painful procedures, such as the child vaccination, is of special importance in the acceptance of healthcare services. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate maternal anxiety during the child vaccination and the factors affecting it.Materials and methods: The present research was a cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted on 92 mothers visiting medical centers. The participants were selected based on random sampling and the required data were collected using a demographics form and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), developed by Charles D. Spielberger. The data were statistically analyzed in SPSS-22.Findings: The results showed that 41 (44.6%), 30 (32.6 %), and 21 (22.8%) participants had mild, moderate, and severe levels of anxiety during the vaccination of their children, respectively. The results also indicated that the higher maternal anxiety was significantly associated with the mother’s lower education, lower age of the child, and maternal employment (p<0.05).Conclusion: More than half of the participants experienced a moderate and severe level of anxiety during the vaccination of their child. Therefore, the staff of medical centers is recommended to perform appropriate interventions in order to reduce the anxiety level of mothers during medical procedures

Keywords:

Anxiety , Mother , Vaccination , Child