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Medical Student Preparedness to Counsel Parents on Childhood Vaccines and Address Vaccine Hesitancy: A
Christina Hermann1, Justen Aprile2
1Penn State College of Medicine.
Objective:
Vaccine hesitancy is a significant public health concern. This study evaluated medical students' confidence in counseling parents on childhood vaccines before and after completing the pediatrics clerkship.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey of 59 Penn State College of Medicine students compared pre- and post-clerkship confidence in vaccine communication. Quantitative data were descriptively analyzed; qualitative responses explored hesitancy contributors and training suggestions. The reporting of his study followed the STROBE (Strengthening The Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guideline for cross-sectional studies.
Results:
Post-clerkship students reported higher confidence in discussing vaccines (79% vs. 33%), explaining schedules (62% vs. 20%), addressing risks/benefits (7% 2vs. 43%), and countering misinformation (59% vs. 37%) compared with pre-clerkship students. Several of these differences reached statistical significance. Comfort discussing vaccine safety remained low (∼44%). Students identified misinformation, politics, and social media as key hesitancy drivers and recommended standardized patient practice and formal teaching to improve preparedness.
Conclusion:
Pediatrics clerkship clinical exposure boosts medical student confidence in vaccine counseling. Targeted skills training is needed to address safety discussions and parental persuasion challenges.
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