Encountering Parents Who Are Hesitant or Reluctant to Vaccinate Their Children: A Meta-Ethnography

Sara Fernández-Basanta, Manuel Lagoa-Millarengo and María-Jesús Movilla-Fernández
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Sara Fernández-Basanta: Research Group GRINCAR, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Nursing and Podiatry, University of A Coruña, Naturalista López Seoane s/n, 15471 Ferrol, Spain
Manuel Lagoa-Millarengo: Galician Health Service (SERGAS), University Hospital Complex of Ferrol, Av. da Residencia, S/N, 15405 Ferrol, Spain
María-Jesús Movilla-Fernández: Research Group GRINCAR, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Nursing and Podiatry, University of A Coruña, Naturalista López Seoane s/n, 15471 Ferrol, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-17

Abstract: (1) Background: Health professionals play an important role in addressing parents who are hesitant or reluctant to immunise their children. Despite the importance of this topic, gaps remain in the literature about these experiences. This meta-ethnography aimed to synthesise the available body of qualitative work about the care experiences of community and hospital health professionals in encounters with parents hesitant or reluctant to vaccinate their children. The aim is to provide key information for the creation of strategies that address vaccine hesitancy or refusal and ensure public trust in vaccination programs, which are required in a pandemic context such as the current one. (2) Methods: Noblit and Hare’s interpretive meta-ethnography of 12 studies was followed. A line of argument synthesis based on a metaphor was developed. (3) Results: The metaphor “The stone that refuses to be sculpted”, accompanied by three themes, symbolises the care experiences of health professionals in their encounters with parents that hesitate or refuse to vaccinate their children. (4) Conclusions: The creation of clearer communication strategies, the establishment of a therapeutic alliance, health literacy and the empowerment of parents are recommended. The incorporation of health professionals in decision making and the strengthening of multidisciplinary teams interacting with such parents are also included.

Keywords: anti-vaccination movement; health personnel; qualitative research; professional–patient relations; vaccination refusal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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