Trust in Information Sources and Parents’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) of Children’s PCV13 Vaccination in the Yangtze River Delta Region, China

Background: Trust in information sources is essential to enhance an individual’s understanding of the message and boost their willingness to change or act on specific health behavior, including vaccine uptake. This study explores the association between trust in information sources and parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding their children’s 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) uptake across seven cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in China. Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted from May to June 2023. Adult parents (N = 1304) who had at least one child aged 24 months or less and lived in the YRD region were recruited. The Adjusted Ordinary Least Squares (OLSs) regression model was applied to estimate the association between participants’ level of trust in different information sources and their knowledge, attitudes, and practices of children’s PCV13 vaccination. Results: Information from the Disease Control and Prevention Center (CDC) source received the highest trust score. Age, gender, education, and annual household income were related to varied trust levels in specific sources. Trust in the health service provider source was significantly associated with a better command of PCV13 knowledge, acceptance of PCV13, and a higher likelihood of vaccination. Trust in online community sources was positively associated with vaccine uptake. Conclusions: The study participants highly trusted information from health service provider sources. These sources may be effective channels with potential to enhance parents’ vaccine knowledge and acceptance of PCV13. Public health workers could utilize trusted sources to disseminate the benefits of the PCV13 and encourage the uptake of the vaccine.