Abstract
Vaccines are considered to be the center of the prevention and management of viral diseases. Even with the wide acceptance that vaccines are safe, vaccine hesitancy is still rampant in various parts of the world. Several historical, social, religious, and moral factors were identified and observed to have influence parent’s vaccine acceptance or hesitance. Parent’s vaccine hesitance or acceptance is crucial since adolescents constitute the ideal group for immunization. This study aims to uncover the issues and challenges of parents on vaccination, the factors that affect their decision to vaccinate their children, and parents' primary influences to vaccinate their children. A descriptive-survey research design utilizing a questionnaire floated to parents of adolescents in a local high school. It was found out that the level of education and type of occupation was significantly associated with parent's decision to vaccinate their children. The major issue and challenge of parents toward vaccination is that they don't find vaccines important and have a high level of distrust towards the government's health agency and medical professionals. The primary factor affecting their decision-making is the negative news on vaccination and vaccine safety. Respondents also reported that even they distrust the government's health agency, they still consider it influential towards their vaccine decision-making. With this, it is recommended that efforts be strengthened in restoring the public's trust towards the government health agency to address vaccine hesitancy.
Highlights
Measles is an extremely communicable acute viral infection that can cause serious implications (Bester, 2016)
This study aims to uncover the issues and challenges of parents on the vaccination program, the factors that affect their decision to vaccinate their children, and the parent's primary influence to vaccinate their children
Level of education and occupation type was associated with the decision to vaccinate their children. This suggests that more thorough effort must be made to inform and educate those in the margin to limit vaccine hesitancy development
Summary
Measles (rubeola) is an extremely communicable acute viral infection that can cause serious implications (Bester, 2016). The measles virus spreads from one person to another through respiratory droplets caused by excessive coughing, sneezing, or direct contact (de Vries et al, 2012). The average person infected with the measles virus can infect twelve to eighteen other people if all are in close contact and susceptible (Plotkin et al, 2018). It is classified as a member of the genus Morbillivirus in the paramyxoviridae family (Abad & Safdar, 2015). The virus triggers an aggressive immune response involving both humoral and cellular immune systems (Buchanan & Bonthius, 2012)
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Schedule a callMore From: Canadian Journal of Family and Youth / Le Journal Canadien de Famille et de la Jeunesse
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