This study is conducted in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada. The purpose of the Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey is to collect information on national immunization coverage for vaccines administered to children and pregnant women.
Your information may be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes. In addition, information from partially completed or unsaved questionnaires may be retained and used.
The survey is intended to:
- determine if children and pregnant women are vaccinated in accordance with recommended immunization schedules for publicly funded vaccines;
- provide the World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization with estimates of national vaccine coverage for childhood vaccines such as measles, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and polio;
- provide information on parental and guardian knowledge and beliefs about vaccines.
Electronic questionnaire, telephone interview and mail-out/mail back
For children aged 2, 7, 14 and 17 years-old, the survey should be completed by the person most knowledgeable of the child's immunization history, or in the case of women with children under age 1, by the birth mother herself.
Parents or guardians will be asked to complete an electronic questionnaire or a telephone interview about vaccines their child has received, in addition to questions about their knowledge and beliefs regarding immunization.
Following the completion of the questionnaire, they will be asked to complete and return by mail a form which provides consent for Statistics Canada to contact their child's immunization providers. The data from immunization providers will be used to supplement the vaccination information provided by the parent or guardian. Respondents living in Prince Edward Island and Manitoba will also be given the opportunity to skip the detailed questions about vaccination, providing they agree to share their child's identifiers with the respective provincial immunization registry. When consent is provided, registry immunization data will be used in the place of parent or immunization provider data.
In 2019, the survey included a module for women who have recently given birth. The 2021 cycle will continue this module. Biological mothers will be asked questions about vaccines they were offered and received during their recent pregnancy, in addition to questions about their knowledge and beliefs regarding immunization. The survey will be conducted via an electronic questionnaire or a telephone interview, and Statistics Canada will not contact immunization providers for these respondents.
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Block Information Confidentiality
Confidentiality
Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19. Your information will be kept strictly confidential.
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Block Information on Record linkage
Record linkage
To enhance the data from this survey and reduce response burden, Statistics Canada will combine responses from this survey with information from regional, provincial or territorial immunization registries. To do this, you or your child's name, gender, address, birth date and health number will be shared with your provincial or territorial ministry of health or regional health authority. We will share this information only with your consent, and these organizations have agreed to keep this information strictly confidential.
In addition, Statistics Canada will combine your responses from this survey with the tax data of all members of the household.
Statistics Canada may also combine your responses from this survey with information from other surveys or from administrative data sources.
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Block Information on Topics covered in the survey
Topics covered in the survey
The survey asks questions about
- immunization status
- beliefs and knowledge of vaccines
- demographics.
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Block Information on Published data
Published data
Statistics Canada publishes the results of its surveys in many formats. To find all the documents related to this survey, follow the links below and type the name of the survey in the search engine located at the left of your screen to filter the results.
Data: You will find tables, profiles of a community or region, thematic maps, public use microdata files, and data visualization tools.
Analysis: You will have direct access to Stats in brief (e.g., releases from The Daily, fact sheets), articles and reports, and journals and periodicals.
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Block Informtion on Survey-specific questions
Survey-specific questions
- What is the Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey (CNICS)?
- Why was I or my child selected?
- How will the data be used? Who will use it?
- My child is not vaccinated, why do you include him in your survey?
- Why is this survey not available in Inuinnaqtun or Inuktitut?
- How will you safeguard the confidentiality of my information?
- How do I access survey results?
What is the Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey (CNICS)?
The Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey (CNICS) is conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada and collects information about children’s immunizations from parents or guardians and about vaccines received during pregnancy. Additional questions on parental knowledge and beliefs regarding immunization are also included.
Why was I or my child selected?
Respondents were randomly selected from administrative data sources produced by Statistics Canada.
How will the data be used? Who will use it?
The primary goal of the 2021 Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey is to estimate national immunization coverage rates for childhood vaccines and vaccines received during pregnancy.
In addition, the data collected will help policy-makers to determine where improvements are needed for prenatal, childhood, and youth immunization programs and services.
It will also provide the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization with national estimates of immunization coverage. In addition to Statistics Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, other federal and provincial government departments and researchers may also use and analyze the results.
My child is not vaccinated, why do you include him in your survey?
This is an opportunity to provide your input. Everyone’s participation is important as it helps to ensure we have an accurate picture of the current situation across the country.
Why is this survey not available in Inuinnaqtun or Inuktitut?
Due to the complexity of the platform used by Statistics Canada for electronic questionnaires, this survey is only available in English and in French.
We are currently working to address these limitations, so that electronic questionnaires in additional languages can be an option for other surveys. We are very pleased that after nearly two years in development, Statistics Canada’s upcoming pilot for the Nunavut Government Employee Survey will include the first electronic questionnaire available in Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, and we hope that in the future more surveys will have this option.
In addition, the Census 2021 questions have been translated into 13 Indigenous languages and dialects, including Inuktitut. The Census Help Line is currently exploring options to hire Inuktitut-speaking officers to field calls in real time related to the Census questionnaire.
How will you safeguard the confidentiality of my information?
As with all Statistics Canada surveys, any information provided will remain confidential pursuant to the Statistics Act.
Statistics Canada takes the privacy of Canadians very seriously. Published data can never identify you or your household.
To find out more about the measures in place to safeguard the confidentiality of your information, visit Statistics Canada's Trust Centre.
How do I access survey results?
We anticipate that the data from this survey will be available early in 2023.
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Block Information on Brochure
Brochure
- PDF Version - English (1.19 MB)
- PDF Version - Inuinnaqtun (1.2 MB)
- PDF Version - Inuktitut (PDF, 946.61 KB)
Immunization and the health of our children - The Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey
Children and youth: A health priority
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for up-to-date data on childhood immunization coverage.
Developing policies and programs to ensure children are protected against disease requires a complete picture of the factors that influence parental decisions about immunization.
You can make a difference
The information collected by the Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey (CNICS) will allow us to measure the immunization status of children across Canada, and will provide insight into parental knowledge of vaccines and the diseases they prevent.
Your participation in this survey will help policy-makers to determine where improvements are needed for prenatal, childhood, and youth immunization programs and services.
Results
The results from the 2019 Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey are available at:
- Statistics Canada
- Public Health Agency of Canada
How to complete the survey
The letter included with this brochure contains your secure access code. Please enter this code at Statistics Canada's electronic questionnaire portal to begin your online survey.
You will need to refer to your child's immunization record while completing the survey.
Topics covered by the survey
Parents and guardians will be asked about
- vaccines their child has received
- immunization knowledge and choices.
Mothers of infants will be asked about
- vaccines they received while pregnant
- knowledge of prenatal vaccination and childhood immunization.
Thank you for participating!
For more information about immunization
Please check with your public health authority or CLSC (in Quebec), or visit the following websites:
- Government of Canada: Vaccines and immunization
- Canadian Paediatric Society: A parent's guide to immunization information on the Internet
- Immunize Canada
Visit Statistics Canada's website or follow us on social media.
- For more information about this survey