Parents' reported reasons for avoiding MMR vaccination A telephone survey
Objective. During the second half of the 1990s and the first years of the 2000s a declining coverage for MMR vaccination in two-year-olds was observed in Sweden. The aim was to assess reasons for postponement or non-vaccination. Design. A telephone survey using a structured questionnaire on parents&...
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Published in | Scandinavian journal of primary health care Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. 149 - 153 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Taylor & Francis
01.09.2005
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Objective. During the second half of the 1990s and the first years of the 2000s a declining coverage for MMR vaccination in two-year-olds was observed in Sweden. The aim was to assess reasons for postponement or non-vaccination. Design. A telephone survey using a structured questionnaire on parents' attitudes regarding their choice to postpone or abstain from vaccinating their child. Setting. The County of Östergötland in Sweden. Subjects. A total of 203 parents of children who had no registered date for MMR vaccination at a Child Health Centre. Main outcome measures. Parental reasons for non-vaccination. Results. In all, 26 of the 203 children had received MMR vaccination but this had not been registered. Of those not vaccinated, 40% of the parents had decided to abstain and 60% to postpone vaccination. Fear of side effects was the most common reason for non-vaccination in both groups. The main source of information was the media followed by the Child Health Centre. Parents with a single child more often postponed vaccination and those who abstained were more likely to have had a discussion with a doctor or nurse about MMR vaccine. Conclusion. Postponers and abstainers may have different reasons for their decision. The role of well-trained healthcare staff in giving advice and an opportunity to discuss MMR vaccination with concerned parents is very important. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0281-3432 1502-7724 1502-7724 |
DOI: | 10.1080/02813430510031306 |