TABLE 2.

Physicians’ Perceptions of How Much Factors Contribute to Requests to Spread Out the Vaccination Schedule (n = 453)

	A Lot, %	Some, %	A Little/Not at All, %
Concern that their child will suffer long-term complications from vaccinesa	57	29	15
General worries about vaccines without a specific concerna	43	37	20
Belief that their child is unlikely to get a vaccine-preventable diseasea	42	32	27
Concern that their child will suffer immediate, short-term effects (such as fever, pain, or excessive crying) from vaccines	40	31	29
Parental concern that their child could develop autism as a result of vaccinationa	36	39	25
The belief that they should play a central role in medical decisions for their child	34	32	34
Concern that vaccines will weaken their child’s immune systema	30	35	35
A friend or relative’s positive experience with an “alternative schedule”a	26	42	32
Parental desire to decrease the pain associated with multiple injectionsb	25	33	42
Parental concern about possible ill effects of thimerosal	21	42	37
Belief that vaccine-preventable diseases are not severe enough to warrant vaccinationa	19	36	45
Belief that vaccines are not effective	4	25	71

^aP < .05 for comparison between specialties (χ² test) in which pediatricians perceive more often than family medicine physicians.

^bP < .05 for comparison between specialties (χ² test) in which family medicine physicians perceive more often than pediatricians.