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Vaccine-Hesitant and Vaccine-Refusing Parents' Reflections on the Way Parenthood Changed Their Attitudes to
T Rozbroj1, A Lyons2, J Lucke2,3
1Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia. t.rozbroj@latrobe.edu.au.
Journal of Community Health
|August 9, 2019
Summary
Parenthood prompts vaccine-hesitant parents to research vaccine choices, often driven by distrust and fears about side effects. Support for negative vaccine experiences could improve parental vaccine attitudes.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Parental Health Behavior
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Parental vaccine beliefs are crucial for childhood immunization uptake.
- Little is known about how becoming a parent specifically influences vaccine-hesitant or refusing parents' attitudes.
- Understanding these shifts is vital for public health communication strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how having children influences the vaccine beliefs of Australian vaccine-hesitant and vaccine-refusing parents.
- To identify common themes and experiences shaping parental vaccine attitudes post-childbirth.
- To inform interventions aimed at addressing vaccine hesitancy.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative thematic analysis of 904 Australian parents' self-reported changes in vaccine attitudes after having children.
- Inductive and iterative coding of parental responses.
- Comparison of themes across vaccine-refusing, vaccine-hesitant, and vaccine-accepting groups (with focus on the former two due to response numbers).
Main Results:
- Parenthood motivated all parents to research vaccine information.
- Vaccine-hesitant and refusing parents frequently cited distrust in pharmaceutical companies and regulatory bodies.
- Concerns included vaccine risks (e.g., side effects), the vaccination schedule (e.g., Hepatitis B vaccine timing), and reported personal experiences of vaccine injury.
Conclusions:
- Having children significantly impacts parental vaccine decision-making, particularly for hesitant and refusing groups.
- Addressing parental distrust and providing better support for negative vaccination experiences may mitigate hesitancy.
- Improved communication regarding the vaccination schedule is recommended.