Vaccine Hesitancy in Pediatric Primary Care Practices

Area of Science:

• Pediatric healthcare
• Public health
• Immunization practices

Background:

• Parental vaccine hesitancy poses challenges to pediatric practice efficiency and effectiveness.
• Understanding how healthcare providers manage vaccine hesitancy is crucial for improving vaccination rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify barriers and challenges pediatric practices face when addressing parental vaccine hesitancy.
• To explore strategies that can minimize the burden of vaccine hesitancy at the practice level.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with pediatric practice staff.
• Utilized thematic analysis to identify barriers, challenges, and strategies related to vaccine hesitancy.

Main Results:

• Key barriers included time constraints, administrative and financial challenges, and strained patient-provider relationships.
• Identified strategies such as vaccine counseling training, pre-visit screening, tailored counseling, and follow-up visits.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric practices encounter significant challenges in managing vaccine-hesitant families.
• Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of identified strategies in increasing vaccine acceptance.