Abstract
Most Canadian parents make sure that their children are immunized on time, but health care providers often encounter parents who are hesitant about vaccination or refuse recommended vaccines. This practice point offers evidence-based guidance to clinicians on how to work with vaccine-hesitant parents. Steps include: 1) Understanding the health care provider’s key role in parental decision-making and not dismissing vaccine refusers from practice; 2) Using presumptive and motivational interviewing techniques to identify specific vaccine concerns; 3) Using effective, clear language to present evidence for disease risks and vaccine benefits fairly and accurately; 4) Managing pain on immunization; and 5) Reinforcing the importance of and parental responsibility for community protection. Immunization is one of the most important preventive health measures in existence and responsible for saving millions of lives. Addressing the concerns of vaccine-hesitant parents is a priority for health care providers.
Keywords: Health care workers, Health communication, Pain on immunization, Vaccine acceptance, Vaccine hesitancy, Vaccine refusal
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CANADIAN PAEDIATRIC SOCIETY INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND IMMUNIZATION COMMITTEE
Members: Natalie A. Bridger MD; Shalini Desai MD; Ruth Grimes MD (Board Representative); Timothy Mailman MD; Joan L. Robinson MD (Chair); Otto G. Vanderkooi MD
Liaisons: Upton D. Allen MBBS, Canadian Paediatric & Perinatal HIV/AIDS Research Group; Tobey Audcent MD, Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel (CATMAT), Public Health Agency of Canada; Carrie Byington MD, Committee on Infectious Diseases, American Academy of Pediatrics; Fahamia Koudra MD, College of Family Physicians of Canada; Rhonda Kropp BScN MPH, Public Health Agency of Canada; Nicole Le Saux MD, Immunization Monitoring Program, ACTive (IMPACT); Jane McDonald MD, Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada; Dorothy L. Moore MD, National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI)
Consultant: Noni E. MacDonald MD
Principal authors: Noni E. MacDonald MD, Shalini Desai MD, Betty Gerstein MD