Vaccine hesitancy and how health care workers can help.

 A recent article in the Journal of Community Health, Vaccine-hesitant and vaccine-refusung Parents' reflections of the way parenthood changed their attitudes to vaccination, examines how having children changed the attitudes of Australian parents towards childhood vaccination.

Journal of Community Health (2020) 45:63–72

Vaccine‑Hesitant and Vaccine‑Refusing Parents’ Refections on the Way

Parenthood Changed Their Attitudes to Vaccination

T.Rozbroj, A. Lyons, J. Lucke.

This research contributes towards understanding how having children affects the vaccine attitudes among vaccine-hesitant and vaccine-refusing parents. Greater support for parents with negative vaccination experiences may prevent hesitant attitudes.

                                                                                                            Source: The Scientist.com

The findings suggest that to increase parental trust in childhood vaccination, experiences and interpretation of adverse events after vaccination need to be addressed better. Improvements in communication between health care workers and parents following perceived adverse events, to better explain to parents what happened, why, and what impact it might or might not have on their child's long-term health, may alleviate downstream vaccine distrust. Developing resources to support health care workers in this may be helpful. Additional resources could also be considered, such as a telephone hotline for parents to discuss vaccine concerns with a health care worker.

In Australia, parents are expected to follow the National Immunisation Program. Vaccine-hesitant parents reported becoming concerned about the number and timing of childhood vaccines, and wanted to choose personalised schedules. Of great concern was why their newborn children required the hepatitis B vaccine. Parents understood hepatitis B as a bloodborne virus associated with injecting drug users and penetrative sex, and did not understand why their newborn needed to be vaccinated against it.

Better explanations and information about the timing of vaccinations on the Australian immunisation schedule, particularly of the hepatitis B vaccination, may help parents feel comfortable with adhering to the schedule. Explaining that administering multiple vaccines together has been shown to be safe, and that vaccines do not weaken natural immunity, might also alleviate parents' concerns.

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