WASHINGTON — Even parents who don't trust vaccines might let you vaccinate their children if they trust you.
That was the conclusion drawn from a survey of parents of 7,810 children aged 19–35 months from the 2001–2002 National Immunization Survey, conducted by Philip J. Smith, Ph.D., and his associates at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Immunization Program, in Atlanta.
The majority of parents (77%) said they believed vaccines were safe and that their belief was influenced by their child's health care provider (physician, nurse, or other). However, 5.7% of parents reported believing that vaccines were not safe, with 2% saying they were not influenced by their child's health care provider while the other 3.7% reported that they were.
Another 17.2% said that they believed vaccines were safe but their belief was not influenced by a health care provider. This group is of concern, because “One thing we don't want to happen is that these parents' opinions migrate to the other side,” Dr. Smith said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Parents who were not influenced by a health care provider were significantly more likely to say that vaccines were not safe, compared with parents who were influenced by a provider (10.4% vs. 4.6%).
Somewhat surprising, however, were the up-to-date immunization rates among the children of the parents who believe that immunizations are not safe: 71.5% for those who said they were influenced by a health care provider, compared with just 55.8% of those who were not, a highly significant difference. “All this is pointing to the importance of a health care provider talking with the parent,” Dr. Smith said.
Indeed, earlier this year the American Academy of Pediatrics published guidelines on how to respond to parents' refusal of immunization for their children (Pediatrics 2005;115:1428–31).
Among AAP's recommendations are to listen respectfully to what parents have to say and not minimize their concerns. Be honest about the benefits and risks of immunization, correct any misconceptions or misinformation, and refer the parents to trusted sources such as the CDC's National Immunization Program page (www.cdc.gov/nip