Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec 31;20(1):2357439.
doi: 10.1080/21645515.2024.2357439. Epub 2024 Jun 10.

Parental knowledge on the respiratory syncytial virus before the nirsevimab immunization program: Attitudes toward immunization in an autonomous community of Spain

Matilde Zornoza Moreno  1 , Jaime Jesús Pérez Martín  1 , Mª Cruz Gómez Moreno  1 , Mª Pilar Ros Abellán  1
Affiliations

Parental knowledge on the respiratory syncytial virus before the nirsevimab immunization program: Attitudes toward immunization in an autonomous community of Spain

Matilde Zornoza Moreno et al. Hum Vaccin Immunother. .

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in young children and associated with most bronchiolitis- and pneumonia-related hospitalizations. A new preventive monoclonal antibody (MAb), nirsevimab, has been launched in the United States, Luxembourg, and France, and was recently approved to be given in a population-based manner throughout Spain. This study aimed to have a first pre-immunization insight into the Spanish parental knowledge about bronchiolitis, RSV, and nirsevimab immunization. Parents in Murcia with children <2 years of age up to the date of September 1, 2023, were selected to complete a questionnaire. The primary endpoint was the parental knowledge about bronchiolitis, RSV, and nirsevimab. A total of 3,217 responses were analyzed. The majority (95.8%) were aware of bronchiolitis. Meanwhile, 46.6% of the respondents knew about RSV, most of them only after the first child's birth. Information about RSV or bronchiolitis was mainly obtained from family members, with only 4.8% reporting having been informed by Health care Professionals (HCPs). Only 11.2% of respondents were aware of nirsevimab. Nonetheless, these were not entirely satisfied with the information received (score of 3.3 out of 5) and shared that HCPs should be the primary source of information. The present survey then highlights the need for better and more efficient educational strategies directed to all parents/legal guardians. It also sheds some light on the different factors that should be considered to improve awareness of RSV immunization to decrease its burden in Spain and beyond.

Keywords: Nirsevimab; bronchiolitis; childhood pneumonia; immunization; knowledge; respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Jaime Jesús Pérez Martín has collaborated with Sanofi giving talks for continuing medical education. The remaining authors have no other conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Parents’ opinion on the importance of having information about RSV immunization.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Parents’ opinion about the appropriate time (a) and way (b) to receive information.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Parents’ opinion about the main reasons for accepting (a) and doubting (b) nirsevimab.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Jain H, Schweitzer JW, Justice NA.. Respiratory syncytial virus infection in children. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459215. - PubMed
    1. Lee Mortensen G, Harrod-Lui K. Parental knowledge about respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and attitudes to infant immunization with monoclonal antibodies. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2022. Oct;21(10):1523–9. doi:10.1080/14760584.2022.2108799. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Li Y, Wang X, Blau DM, Caballero MT, Feikin DR, Gill CJ, Madhi SA, Omer SB, Simões EAF, Campbell H. et al. Global, regional, and national disease burden estimates of acute lower respiratory infections due to respiratory syncytial virus in children younger than 5 years in 2019: a systematic analysis. Lancet. 2022. May 28;399(10340):2047–64. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00478-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gea-Izquierdo E, Gil-Prieto R, Hernandez-Barrera V, Gil-de-Miguel A. Respiratory syncytial virus-associated hospitalization in children aged <2 years in Spain from 2018 to 2021. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2023. Aug 1;19(2):2231818. doi:10.1080/21645515.2023.2231818. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Grupo de Trabajo utilización de nirsevimab frente a infección por virus respiratorio sincitial de la Ponencia de Programa y Registro de Vacunaciones . Comisión de Salud Pública del Consejo Interterritorial del Sistema Nacional de Salud. Ministerio de Sanidad, julio; 2023. [accessed 2023 Nov]. https://www.sanidad.gob.es/areas/promocionPrevencion/vacunaciones/comoTr....

Substances

Grants and funding

Sanofi and AstraZeneca have funded the statistical analysis, medical writing, and editorial support of this manuscript.

LinkOut - more resources