Provider-parent Communication When Discussing Vaccines: A Systematic Review

Expert literature on communication practices with vaccine hesitant parents posits that a non-confrontational/participatory discussion with the parent would be the best approach to improve compliance. A prior literature review found limited evidence to recommend any particular face to face intervention other than to incorporate communication about vaccination effectiveness during an encounter. Hence, a systematic review was performed in an attempt to determine the most efficacious communication practices to use with parents with vaccination concerns.

Quantitative and qualitative studies written in English that assessed the communication framework/style of the provider-parent interaction and studies where provider communication was listed as an intervention were reviewed.

Nine articles were included in the sample.

The majority of the studies were descriptive and qualitative in nature with only one randomized controlled trial. Five of the 9 studies utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design. Two main themes included message types recommended or given by the provider and message types that were requested by the parent.

Overall, findings showed that there is currently not enough information to definitively state the type of provider-parent communication style that should be employed to affect the parents' vaccination viewpoint. However, recurring themes of trust in the provider and a personalized provider-parent interaction were evident, which promotes a participatory type of interaction.

The literature indirectly supports providers engaging with vaccine hesitant parents in a more individualized, participatory format, though higher quality and more rigorous studies that focus specifically on provider-parent communication practices are needed.