Would you be interested?

[NYCVeg]

I know we all lament the lack of statistical data comparing vaxed to unvaxed kids. And we all hear a lot of claims made on both sides (vaxed kids get dangerous diseases ALL the time; unvaxed kids never get autism)--some of which may be true, but we have no way of knowing for sure, right?

I wrote up a massive vax survey. It's long (17 pages in word, although there are different sections for parents who do and don't vax, and a lot of length is made up by long lists of diseases, side effects, etc. that you just check off). I tried to cover a range of topics: do doctors offer vaxing parents info and, if so, do they read it; what kinds of research do vaxing/non-vaxing parents do; at what rate do vaxed and unvaxed kids get v"p"ds and how serious are these diseases; do unvaxed kids get autism or other autoimmune diseases; are live virus vaccines spreading illnesses; etc.

I'm not a social scientist, and, of course, the data I could collect on mothering would be largely anecdotal--but I think this board is unique in its large numbers of unvaxed kids (and parents who know unvaxed kids), so I think that collecting the evidence would be interesting.

So, my questions:
1) Would you be interested in taking a look at such a survey and offering some feedback (I'm not as up on possible side-effects of vaxes as many of you are, and I need to fill in the "vax schedule", which I've been too lazy to look up)?
2) Would you be interested in filling out a revised version of the survey, when it's done, and/or distributing it to others on mothering and in real life? I think it would be ideal to have lots of unvaxing parents, lots of selective vaxers, and lots of complete vaxers, both from the NFL community and the "mainstream" community.

Bear in mind that it would take me many months to collect and process the data.

Let me know what you think!

[~member~]

I think you should apply for a grant and get money to help you out with such an endeaver.
Shoot, you could even apply for an artist grant and put the information on exhibit, kwim?

And, yes, I would be willing to fill out a survey/questionaire.

[Ruthla]

I'd be willing to fill out such a survey. There's precious little data out there on delayed vaccinations.

[Annikate]

I agree with MamaInTheBoonies, try to get someone to pay YOU to do this. Of course, that process could take as long as the collecting and analyzing of the data.

I would definitely be interested in helping any way I can (and very interested in the results as well!)

[dakotamidnight]

Originally Posted by Annikate

I agree with MamaInTheBoonies, try to get someone to pay YOU to do this. Of course, that process could take as long as the collecting and analyzing of the data.

I would definitely be interested in helping any way I can (and very interested in the results as well!)

:

You might try contacting the science dept of a local university - you may be able to get interns to help you with it. And possibly a grant too.

And I definatly will fill it out!

[tiffer23]

Sure, I'd do it. My whole family and all our friends are 100% on time, every vaccination, vaxers so I could get them to do it too. We vaxed once, stopped them all and won't do any before age 2 now. But will probably start a few then.

[NYCVeg]

Originally Posted by MamaInTheBoonies

I think you should apply for a grant and get money to help you out with such an endeaver.
Shoot, you could even apply for an artist grant and put the information on exhibit, kwim?

And, yes, I would be willing to fill out a survey/questionaire.

Originally Posted by dakotamidnight

:

You might try contacting the science dept of a local university - you may be able to get interns to help you with it. And possibly a grant too.

And I definatly will fill it out!

Is this realistic? I have no formal (or, frankly, informal) training in science. It seems highly unlikely to me that I could get grant money (for which the competition is fierce). I have been on the side of asking for grant money in the humanities--I'm working on a PhD in English lit--and I've found it to be extremely competitive--and this is for people who are academics in the field. I mean, if some random person called my department and said they were interested in doing x survey in the field, with absolutely no training or educational background in it, I'm sure they would just get summarily dismissed. My assumption was that it would have to be a vanity project.

[Anastasiya]

sure! sounds like a great idea....keep us posted.

[Haydee]

I'd be willing to help.

[APMomOfKimmyN-Maya]

hi

I would gladly participate. I have one fully vaxed child and one that hasn't had any vaxes except for the Hep B one that they slipped past me at birth!

[Guest*]

I would fill out the survey.

[HerbLover]

Id fill it out!
And possibly see if we could get it published in the Vaccination Liberation newsletter or on their website. Definitely keep us posted

[heldt123]

I would do it. I have one child vaxed up to 18 month, one unvaxed.

[Fyrestorm]

Send one my way too...1 completely unvaxed DD here.

[ndunn]

Yes! send it my way!

[aira]

I'm in too - never a vax for DS...

[kwren23]

i'd fill it out! ds is fully vaxed and dd is not vaxed (except for 1 hep b)

[krizzanne]

Yes, I will fill it in, too! and/or help circulate it and/or help correlate results.

I think it's a fabulous idea, and I think you have a perfect group of 'subjects' to do this kind of a study!

I just bought a subscription for a grant searching company for my husband's tuition, so I will spend some time searching for you, too. There is grant money for all kinds of crazy things!!

Hey, should we hit up some of the pharma companies for $$??

I don't know if you have considered this, but it could also be a long-term study. You could send follow-up surveys at, say, 2 and 4 years. (then you can add consent to this first survey and make sure people keep you updated with their contact info.) That way, when the kids are older and developing alergies/asthma/diabetes/autism/etc... you could see if vaxed/notvaxed are different.

good luck, you English Lit Scientist!

[lyttlewon]

I would participate. I am in Six Sigma and am addicted to surveys. You have to be careful when doing a survey though because what you are looking at right now is non response bias. Basically those of us here who respond have something to gain and so your results will be skewed. It is the responders who are apathetic that you need to respond otherwise you will have cherry picked data.

ETA: I have a big powerpoint on writing surveys if you PM me your e-mail addy I can send it. I warn you though it is 224 pages.

[Heathermhill]

I'd fill one out for you,,, I'd love to read the results too!