Introduction
Falling vaccination rates worry medical professionals in those countries where the number of cases of vaccine-preventable diseases grows steadily. According to data collected by UNICEF and WHO through July 2019, “the Western Pacific Region and especially the Region of the Americas experience drops in [immunization] coverage” (3). It can be attributed to parents’ apprehension of vaccinating children due to different reasons. It is important to explore them to understand vaccine hesitancy around the world better. There is a possibility that cultural beliefs and values play a part in the parents’ decision not to vaccinate their children, and it is thus worth exploring how much influence cultural beliefs and values have on vaccine hesitancy.
Main body
When it comes to children’s vaccination and immunization issues, their parents or legal guardians are the ones to decide whether or not the children should get the necessary vaccines. In many countries, vaccination is mandatory by law, so avoiding it is not an option. In other parts of the world, immunization is required for schooling, but it does not stop parents from evading or delaying vaccination.
It appears that apart from parents’ access to scientifically proved information about the benefits of vaccination, their attitude to public safety can influence the choice to vaccinate the children. According to Damnjanović et al., in the more individualistic societies, there are tendencies to not have children immunized (2). If parents consider themselves the ultimate authority in protecting their children from health dangers, these grown-ups rarely think about the potential risks their vaccine-related decisions may have on other people’s health. A single unvaccinated child can be a source of infection for dozens of people.
It is a modern-day cultural phenomenon for more people to look for information on the internet. Researchers note that this can be problematic, especially when it comes to data relating to medical issues, diseases, and immunization (Damnjanović et al., 5). On the internet, a personal opinion can be propagated as well researched and universally proved. It can find international support and follow as well as being widely shared with no verification whatsoever.
Besides, in some communities people tend to have more trust in their relatives and neighbors views; giving little thought to how qualified the relatives and neighbors are in forming opinions on the health-related issues, whether they have a negative or positive experience regarding the effect of a vaccine on the health of the children. According to Damnjanović et al., “[a]necdotal cases (especially personal experiences) are one of the key forms of communication on the topic of vaccination, particularly among vaccine-hesitant groups” (5). The situation gets all the more severe if, in these communities, there is no access to qualified medical professionals. They can examine children individually and give their unbiased opinion on immunization matters.
Some parents can be vaccine-hesitant if they come from communities where vaccination was unavailable or simply unheard of. If immunization is a new thing for most of the community members, deciding as to whether or not to get their children vaccinated becomes complicated. It is essential how much scientific information on the topic of vaccination there is in the public domain. If this data comes from official sources such as the government and the population relies on this information, public awareness of the benefits and complications of vaccines will rise. It can contribute to disease prevention and lowering healthcare costs.
Conclusion
People’s cultural beliefs and personal values influence their choice of having children vaccinated or not. If parents understand the need for an unbiased professional opinion on the topic of immunization and are aware the internet should not be the only source of information on the issue, then they will be able to make the right choice. The more parents are educated on the topic of vaccine-related issues, the more trust there is between the population, healthcare officials and physicians, the more responsible and informed the parents would be when making decisions about immunizing their children and the healthier society will become.
References
- Damnjanović, Kaja, et al. “Parental Decision-Making on Childhood Vaccination.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 9, 2018, pp. 1-14.
- Progress and Challenges with Achieving Universal Immunization Coverage, Data.unicef.org, 2019. Web.