Questions for Parents Who Chose Not to Vaccinate Their Child

[MonicaNE]

Hi Everyone-

I am a medical research professional and am currently trying to gather research to publish a paper about the reasons some parents are opting NOT to immunize their child.  I am not attempting to make any judgments or use the information I obtain to condemn parents; this is simply an informational survey.

I would very much appreciate your assistance in this endeavor.  The survey questions are below.  The answers need not be long, and please only answer those questions you feel comfortable addressing.

Thanks for your help,

Monica Milleson, Omaha, NE

SURVEY QUESTIONS

For parents who have not vaccinated* their child for at least one of the diseases listed below please answer the following:

          Diphtheria (Can be prevented by the DTaP vaccine)

          Haemophilus influenzae type b (Can be prevented by the Hib vaccine)

          Hepatitis A (Can be prevented by the HepA vaccine)

          Hepatitis B (Can be prevented by the HepB vaccine)

          Influenza (Can be prevented by the annual flu vaccine)

          Measles (Can be prevented by the MMR vaccine)

          Mumps (Can be prevented by the MMR vaccine)

          Pertussis (Whooping Cough) (Can be prevented by the MMR vaccine)

          Pneumococcal Disease (Can be prevented by PCV vaccine)

          Polio (Can be prevented by the IPV vaccine)

          Rotavirus (Can be prevented by the RV vaccine)

          Rubella (German Measles) (Can be prevented by the MMR vaccine)

          Tetanus (Lockjaw) (Can be prevented by the DTaP vaccine)

          Varicella (Chickenpox) (Can be prevented by the Varicella vaccine)

 *Immunizations for Persons Aged Birth Through 6 Years Old recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians

1.  Which of the above has your child NOT been vaccinated for?

2.  Please indicate the specific reasons why you did not vaccinate your child for each of the diseases you listed in the previous questions?

3.  Did you discuss your concerns and reasons for not vaccinating your child with your healthcare provider?  If so, what was their response?

4.   Are you, the parent, or legal guardian, vaccinated for any diseases?

5.  Do you believe your child is at risk for contracting any of the diseases he or she was not vaccinated for?  If so, what concerns, if any, do you have about your child contracting one of the diseases prevented by the vaccines?

6.   What sources of information did you use in making your decisions regarding vaccinating your child?

7.   If a healthcare provider was source of information used to make your decision, do you felt they provided you adequate information about the vaccination and its potential side effects?

8.   Did you healthcare provider pressure you to have your child vaccinated?

9.   Did you feel judged by your healthcare provider when refusing a vaccination for your child?

10.  Have you, or anyone that you know personally, been adversely affected after a vaccination?

9.   Is your child home-schooled?   If so, did you choose to home-school your child because they are not vaccinated, or for other reasons?

10.   Does your child attend any of the following: day-care, public school private school?  If so, did you use an exemption to enroll your child into the facility?  What exemption did you use and why?

11.   Does your have access to healthcare insurance?  If so, does your child have a private insurance carrier, Medicaid, or other type of provider that covers childhood vaccinations?

12.   Do you have any regrets or concerns about your decision?

[katelove]

Hi Monica,

I would be happy to answer your questions if you could please provide a bit more information about your research. Are you a student of some sort? Which university or health care facility are you affiliated with? What is your research question? Do you intend to publish your research? Which publication are you hoping to have it accepted by? Where will your sample population come from? Is it just MDC? Other forums? People IRL?  And, finally :-), can you please provide details of the ethics committee approval for your research.

Thanks

Kate

[MonicaNE]

Kate,

Thanks so much for your quick reply!  You are correct, I am a student attending Southeast Community College in Lincoln.  For many years I have worked as a pharmaceutical research professional, both in laboratory settings and on the clinical side.  The job opportunities are limited in this area for this type of work so I am making a career change into nursing.  The University of Nebraska Medical Center has an accelerated nursing program that I will be applying to this year.   

At tis time, I am completing a couple of prerequisite classes required for the program, one of which is requiring a research paper.  Since I have pharmaceutical research experience and am very interested in the vaccination debate, I am choosing to write about the topic.  This paper is a cursory review of the subject and the information will not be published.  I do apologize for not be clear about that in my post last night.  I am expecting that I will be required to write a more in-depth paper while in the nursing program and at that time would like to continue my research about vaccinations and complete a larger survey.  At that time I would submit a survey for review to the ethics board and would eventually be interested in publishing the results.

For my initial cursory review of the topic, my sample population will be primarily limited to individuals from web forums, in addition to a few parents in the area that I hope to speak to personally about the subject.  I understand how parents who have chosen not to vaccinate have been demonized and therefore understand any cause for concern.  Yet the statistics show that these parents are highly educated, and are making decisions based on a great deal of research, thought and consideration.  These are parents that care about their children tremendously, not the opposite, and the number of parents refusing vaccinations is growing.  I believe their concerns need to be researched in greater depth and brought to the table for discussion instead of casually dismissing them. 

I hope this answers your questions!  Again, thanks for your consideration, and your quick response.

Monica

[amnesiac]

I am closing this thread to further responses. We ask that members wishing to participate in surveys communicate privately with the OP rather than posting directly to the boards. I am also moving the thread to our main vax board.