The research in each article points to the importance of adherence to the annually updated childhood vaccine schedule. Each of the studies outlined the different beliefs parents have towards vaccinating their children. Though each study has a completely different sample population and focus, all five studies can be related to the importance of childhood immunization.
After analyzing the literature, the most direct theme in childhood vaccinations was parents’ opinions. The most important determining factor in a child’s vaccine schedule adherence is what their parents believe about vaccinations. Four of our five articles discuss how the parent’s opinion on immunizations directly correlates to their child’s adherence to their prescribed immunization schedule. In a study on the human papilloma virus vaccine, researchers found that parents who were educated on the vaccine were more likely to allow their daughter to get it, compared to parents who didn’t know anything about the vaccine.
The results of this study suggest that having a clear understanding of HPV and the vaccine would increase the parent’s decision for vaccination against HPV (Mansfield et al., 2018). In a study located in rural Ohio, the researchers determined that “parental beliefs about mandatory school vaccinations and refusal of vaccination for a child may be associated with several parental social and demographic factors” (Krok-Schoen et al., 2017). It is clear that the more education a parent has, the more likely they are to make a positive decision regarding vaccines.
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Many parents experience anxiety about the vaccination process. In a study done specifically about parents anxiety related to vaccines, most participants stated that they vaccinated their children in spite of their hesitations. They found that the results can be broken into different time frames for their anxiety. Prior to vaccinating their children anxiety was felt when trying to remember the benefits of vaccines and the immune response of their child.
During vaccination, parents felt more anxiety when having to restrain their child during the administering of the vaccination and the number of vaccinations given at one time. After the vaccinations were given, the most anxiety was felt about potential side effects, whether they were common or uncommon side effects. Additionally, the researchers mention that “the topic of Autism and vaccinations remained a prominent cause for parental anxiety, despite the fact that scientific reports discount any correlation between the two” (Luthy et al., 2013).
In a correlational study on the effects of vaccines on the development of other childhood illnesses, researchers discovered that a majority of parents question the correlations between childhood vaccines and childhood illnesses (Anderson and Arvidson, 2017). It is imperative that nurses recognize a parent’s anxiety related to vaccines so that they can ease their anxieties by educating them on the benefits of childhood immunizations.
Two articles that we synthesized stood in direct opposition to each other. The biggest piece of refuting evidence we found in our research synthesis was the retracted Wakefield study. Wakefield looked over histories, took biopsies, composed images such as MRIs and EEGs, drew blood labs, and performed a lumbar puncture while the children underwent sedation. He found that in eight of the twelve children he studied, the time of their developmental delay correlated to the time they received the MMR vaccine.
However, this study was retracted for many reasons, including that the main researcher, Andrew Wakefield, was in the process of developing a new MMR vaccine when he did this study, causing high levels of bias (Wakefield et al., 1998). In a 2017 article, researchers Anderson and Arvidson found that there were no correlations between childhood vaccines and the development of later illnesses (Anderson and Arvidson, 2017). It is important that more studies come out like this one, for the purpose of convincing parents that childhood vaccines are more beneficial rather than dangerous.
