The politics of immunization in public health.
The role of socio-political and psychological factors in the decision to immunize is explored using data collected in a county health department in the United States. Decisions regarding the administration of post-exposure immunizations for hepatitis A and rabies are described, and a tendency toward unnecessary use noted. At times these interventions function more to reduce the anxiety of a patient or clinician than they do to prevent an infection. These findings may have implications for analyses of clinical decision making that involve other types of interventions.
McCombie
S C
SC
Annenberg School of Communications, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104.
D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization / Q000523:psychology*; D011057:Politics; D011634:Public Health; D011818:Rabies / Q000517:prevention & control; D015206:Southwestern United States