Childhood vaccine hesitancy: The power of metaphors
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Metaphors significantly influence vaccine acceptance among Brazilian parents. The "teacher" metaphor, explaining how vaccines train the immune system, was most popular, suggesting its potential for health communication.
Area Of Science
- Health Communication
- Vaccinology
- Qualitative Research
Background
- The language used to discuss health conditions can impact vaccine acceptance.
- Understanding parental perceptions of vaccine mechanisms is crucial for effective health messaging.
- This study explores metaphors Brazilian parents use to describe vaccine function.
Purpose Of The Study
- To qualitatively analyze the metaphors Brazilian parents employ to explain how vaccines work.
- To identify which metaphorical frameworks are most prevalent in understanding vaccine mechanisms.
Main Methods
- Cross-sectional online survey conducted in Brazil (November 17 - December 14, 2021).
- Participants (15,297 caregivers) selected from predefined metaphors or provided open-ended responses.
- Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses using Iramuteq software, based on conceptual metaphor theory.
Main Results
- The majority (93.9%) of participants chose predefined metaphors.
- The 'vaccines as teachers' metaphor was most selected (64.7%), followed by 'weapons' (19.2%).
- Qualitative analysis of 687 open-ended responses provided further insights into metaphorical understanding.
Conclusions
- Metaphors are powerful tools for enhancing vaccine adherence.
- The choice and impact of metaphors can be culturally and regionally specific.
- Further research is needed to understand the positive and negative effects of different metaphors in vaccine communication.