Trial participation and vaccine desirability for Vi polysaccharide typhoid fever vaccine in Hue City, Viet Nam

OBJECTIVES To identify demand for Vi typhoid fever vaccine for school-age children; obstacles and enabling factors for vaccine delivery; and socio-behavioural factors associated with trial participation and possible predictors of future vaccine acceptance, in Hue City, Viet Nam. METHODS Pre- and post-trial surveys of randomly selected households with children aged 6-17 years. Simple multinomial logistic analyses for ratios of relative risks (RRR) and significance on trial participation by demographics and variables related to typhoid fever, vaccination, and pre-trial experiences with information and consents. Multiple logistic regressions to assess differences in participation based on child's characteristics. RESULTS As many as 62.6% of households let all school age children participate, 10.2% let some participate, and 26.8% let none of their children participate in the trial. Factors associated with all children participating included past use of healthcare facilities (RRR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.24-0.83), knowledge of vaccines (RRR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.03-0.86), and perceived causes of typhoid fever (RRR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.81-0.99). Factors associated with some children participating included utilization of healthcare facilities (RRR, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.01-0.66) and perceived severity of typhoid fever (RRR, 0.64; 95% CI 0.46-0.88). Participation was associated with satisfaction regarding pre-vaccination information and consent procedures. Children and adolescents were active decision-makers. Only 14 of 461 (2.2%) respondents would not use the Vi vaccine in the future for their child(ren). CONCLUSIONS Inter-related factors contribute to participation in a clinical vaccine trial, which may differ from desire to participate in a public health campaign. Educational campaigns need to be targeted to children and adolescents, and consideration for assent procedures for minors. Obtaining informed consent may affect trial participation within a social and political system unaccustomed to these procedures.