title: Why parents refuse immunization?
abstract: Rates of child immunization are falling in many countries, leading to the increase of morbidity and mortality from diseases controlled by vaccinations. The simplified model of the natural history of immunization follows a sequence of fear of the disease before vaccination, followed by acceptance of the vaccination until plateau, where the population forgets the morbidity and mortality of pre-immunization. Historical factors including withdrawals of vaccines, and publications regarding the true or falsified dangers of vaccines still resonate with parents. Building on these historical factors, unscientific sources such as naturopaths, homeopaths, chiropractors, celebrities and lay-people with anecdotal evidence and even scientific sources such as some universities and some medical doctors push their views on anti-vaccination, which proves to make the decision to vaccinate more difficult on parents. The main reason that parents refuse vaccination is a desire to protect their children. These parents believe that vaccination is harmful, or that not vaccinated children are healthier than vaccinated children. Scientific data often will lose with pseudoscientific, false or anecdotal data that have higher sensational and emotional impact on parents. With so many sources giving so many factors which sometimes contradict themselves, it is indeed difficult for a parent to make a clear decision for their child.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Cape Breton Regional Hospital , Nova Scotia, Kanada, e-mail: andrzej.kajetanowicz@nshealth.ca.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kajetanowicz
authors.affiliation: 2Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada - student.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kajetanowicz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014611:Vaccination / Q000009:adverse effects*
keywords: anti-vaccination movement; immunization program; vaccine preventable disease; vaccine refusal