View Larger Image Researchers at the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation found that health care providers, along with family and friends, can play a large part in a parent’s decision to vaccinate their children.
Researchers at the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation found that health care providers, along with family and friends, can play a large part in a parent’s decision to vaccinate their children.

Providers, Family and Friends Play Crucial Role in Vaccine Decisions, UAMS Researchers Find

By David Wise

| Health care providers, along with family and friends, can play a large part in a parent’s decision to vaccinate their children, according to researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation.

This is the latest study from the institute that examines the roles of outside influences on vaccination decisions. Parents interviewed as part of the study described the professional expertise of their health care provider and personal experiences of close family and friends as the main contributors to their decisions to vaccinate their children against HPV, despite experiencing some concerns about the vaccine. According to the study, information from strangers or content shared on social media were not described by parents as influential in their decision-making.

“We know that some parents are hesitant of vaccines, and this research highlights the critical role that providers and a person’s close social network play in combating misinformation,” said Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Community Health Innovation.

While the study specifically examines influences regarding HPV vaccination, the information researchers learned could also help improve vaccination rates for other diseases, particularly the measles, McElfish said. So far this year, Arkansas has reported seven cases of measles among the worst nationwide outbreak of measles in the U.S. since the 1990s.

“In Arkansas, where vaccine uptake is significantly lower than national averages, this information could be crucial in our efforts to protect children and families from a range of diseases,” said Ramey Moore, Ph.D., lead researcher on the study. “Providers should be encouraged that their conversations with patients truly make a difference.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), HPV is estimated to cause 90% of cervical and anal cancers and 70% of oropharyngeal, vaginal, vulvar and penile cancers. The CDC recommends a two-shot series of the HPV vaccine starting at age 11, with follow-up vaccination through age 26, as well as for some adults aged 27-45. HPV vaccination is estimated to prevent more than 90% of cancers caused by HPV.

Currently, less than 50% of Arkansas children aged 13-17 are up to date for the HPV vaccine, well below the CDC’s Healthy People 2030 target of 80% coverage nationally and in Arkansas.

The study, A Qualitative Study of Social Processes, HPV Vaccine Attitudes, and Vaccination Behavior Among Hesitant Adopter Parents, was published in Clinical Pediatrics.

For more information about the Institute for Community Health Innovation, visit communityhealth.uams.edu.