<p> A personal belief exemption (PBE) has allowed parents to exempt their children from immunization when they are opposed to it based on their personal beliefs. As the number of PBE increased over the past few years, there was an increase in incidence of vaccine preventable diseases such as measles and pertussis among kindergartens. The current study examined the association between the percentages of PBEs filed by parents of kindergarten and three socio-demographic variables of schools including ethnicity, income level, and religious affiliation. The statistical findings showed that the percentages of PBE were lower among Asian Americans and Hispanics than Caucasians, higher among the religiously affiliated schools than religiously affiliated schools, and higher among south Orange County (OC) schools than north OC schools. The findings can help public health field detect which risk factors correlate the percentage of PBE and develop interventions more effectively and can help limit future outbreaks.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10076447 |
| Date | 06 April 2016 |
| Creators | Kim, Hannah B. |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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