What factors contribute to parental vaccine hesitancy for children aged 0–5 years?

Abstract

A growing proportion of children in England aged 0–5 years are not being vaccinated in line with the national immunisation schedule. Evidence suggests that this is, in part, due to parents declining all or some vaccinations. A deeper understanding of the reasons behind parental ‘vaccine hesitancy’ would enable effective health promotion approaches to ensure the success of childhood vaccination programmes. With this in mind, a literature review was conducted. Analysis of the selected papers identified emerging themes that contributed to parental vaccine hesitancy for children aged 0–5 years. These included a lack of parental perception that routine vaccines are needed; safety concerns for vaccines being offered; and a belief that a child’s immune system would be ‘overloaded’ if several vaccines were given at one time. The findings suggest a collaborative approach between parents, health professionals and stakeholders is needed to tackle the problem of parental vaccine hesitancy.