Preliminary results from an interview study with parents about childhood vaccination

Staffan Svensson, Kristin Augutis, Ann-Sofie Cavefors

Keywords: vaccine hesitancy, measles, pediatrics, general practice

Background:

Vaccine hesitancy, the state of being reluctant to or refuse vaccination despite a good availability of vaccines, was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in in 2019 as being one of the top ten threats to global health. In the northeastern suburbs of Gothenburg, coverage rates for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine among 2-year old has fallen from 95% in 2017 to 88% in 2023.

Research questions:

What are the views of parents living in these suburbs, concerning childhood vaccination?

Method:

In an ongoing study, parents of children aged 2 to 6 years are recruited for interviews at Children’s Healthcare Centres (BVCs) in northeastern Gothenburg. Recruitment is based on BVC specialist nurses’ personal knowledge of parents. The main exclusion criterion is an insufficient language level (no interpreters are used). Interviews follow a semi-structured course and some of the questions posed are “How do you think parents who refuse to vaccinate reason”, “Which sources of knowledge do you think parents trust?” and “What do you think a BVC specialist nurse should do if someone doesn’t want to vaccinate their child”? Interviews are audio-taped. The study is situated within a WHO tailoring immunization programme (TIP).

Results:

Since interviews started in January 2024, 13 parents have contributed data, of which 7 fathers and 6 mothers, having their (self-declared) origin mostly in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean and European regions. All of the interviewees own children have got the MMR vaccine, but the parents are nevertheless aware of the discourse concerning vaccine pros and cons, the latter being chiefly a fear of autism as a side-effect. Parents sometimes harbour considerable doubt about the vaccine in spite of their decision to vaccinate.

Conclusions:

Vaccine hesitancy is a complex phenomenon, where parents’ views are crucial for gaining insights into its underlying factors.

Points for discussion:

How to recruit those parents who refuse to vaccinate?

Advantages and disadvantages of not using interpreters?

How to know when interview “saturation” is achieved?

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