You are working as a registered nurse in a GP Practice and one of your roles is to promote immunization for children (this may be the MMR or other recommended immunizations). You have had a few parents refuse vaccinations for their children and this concerns you as you believe that this may leave the child and communities vulnerable to outbreaks of serious diseases.
Midwifery students: You are working as a midwife in an antenatal clinic. One of your roles is to promote vaccination against pertussis(whooping cough) for pregnant women. You have had a few pregnant women decline vaccination. This concerns you as you know that if the pregnant woman is immune to pertussis that passive immunity is passed to her unborn baby to protect them against pertussis when they are newborn until thery are able to be immunised themselves
You do not think that parents/pregnant women would deliberately expose their children/baby/themselves to the risk of serious disease unless they were guided by a belief that immunisation was not safe. You are vaguely aware via media reports that there is an anti-vaccine movement, and you want a quick overview of what it is all about. As most of us would do, you consult Google, and you find the following information. Read the information video below:
The History of Vaccines: History of the anti-vaccination movement
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia (2017)
https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-anti-vaccination-movements
You could now choose one (or all) of the following actions:
• Conclude that parents/pregnant women are entitled to make decisions about their child’s/baby’s/own healthcare, even if it is against public health policy.
• You could question your own belief system – after all, you are basing your practice on government guidelines and you trust that the government will make decisions about health care that are evidence-based, informed by experts in the field, and in the best interests of Australians. You haven’t checked the literature for evidence of immunisation safety yourself.
• You could investigate whether there is any evidence of harm caused by immunization, and to identify information that may influence parent’s/pregnant woman’s beliefs or fears about immunization.
Sample Solution
