[P ARENTS WHO VACCINATE , PARTIALLY VACCINATE AND DO NOT VACCINATE IN
A USTRALIA ] Summary of Results
Dr Bronwyn Harman
ABOUT THE RESEARCH This study aimed to examine the views and beliefs of Australian parents (or caregivers) of children aged 4 years and younger towards vaccination. Data were collected in July/August 2016.
FUNDING This study was not funded by any grants.
DEFINITIONS The researcher assumed that the category of “partial vaccination” would capture children who had been partially vaccinated because the parents had simply forgotten to maintain the vaccination schedule. However, the people in this research who identified as partial vaccinators were mostly parents who had begun the recommended vaccination schedule and, for various reasons and at various times, decided not to continue with vaccinations.
PARTICIPANTS Participants were recruited via print media, social media (Twitter and Facebook), personal contacts, and snowballing. They were drawn from all states and territories Australia wide. In total there were 495 parents reporting on the vaccination status of 705 children. Of those 705 children, 243 were fully vaccinated, 352 were not vaccinated, and 110 were partially vaccinated (per the immunisation schedule recommended by the Federal Government Department of Health). No identifying data was collected.
THE SURVEY The survey was completely anonymous, and administered via an online web-based survey tool (Qualtrics). The survey collected demographic information about the parent completing the survey, and demographic information about their child (or children) aged 4 years or younger. It then collected qualitative data about parents’ views and beliefs about immunisation. In the latter section, respondents could say as little or as much as they wished.
RESULTS The research yielded some interesting results that have not been previously examined in an Australian context. Firstly, the profile of people who do not vaccinate their children does not conform to the anecdotal stereotypes. For example, of the parents of non-vaccinated children, 50.5% hold a university degree (compared to 50% of parents who partially vaccinate, and 54.3% of parents who fully vaccinate). In addition, 55.7% of parents who do not vaccinate and 54.5% of parents who partially vaccinate have a household income of less than $100 000/annum
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(compared to 40.74% of parents who fully vaccinate). The stereotypes of non vaccinating parents as uneducated and rich are not supported by this research. There were two main themes in the research. The first theme surrounds the reasons that parents vaccinate or do not vaccinate their children. Unsurprisingly (because the current research is in line with previous research), parents do not vaccinate their children because: they feel misinformed and/or misled in regards to the ingredients in vaccinations; they are not sure of the long term effects of vaccinations; they mistrust government, medical professionals, and/or pharmaceutical companies; or, they believe leading a natural, healthy lifestyle will protect their children from disease. Parents who vaccinate their children do so because of their belief in the effectiveness of vaccinations, and herd immunity. The second theme involves the Federal Government policy of No Jab, No Pay (NJNP), whereby welfare payments are tied to vaccination status, specifically, that government welfare payments are withheld if children are not vaccinated according to the immunisation schedule. As predicted, people who do not immunise their children expressed dissatisfaction with NJNP, labelling it as “blackmail”, “dictatorship” and exercising “parental control”. However, one very surprising result was that approximately half of parents who fully immunise their children were equally dissatisfied with NJNP. That is, they think that children should be immunised, but they do not think that the government should tie welfare payments to vaccinations.
DISCUSSION This research sought to examine why people vaccinate, partially vaccinate, or do not vaccinate their children (aged 4 years or younger) in Australia, and also to examine discourse around vaccination. The perception that non-vaccinators are uneducated is not supported by this research. More than half of the non-vaccinating participants in this research have university degrees (50.5%). Additionally, non-vaccinators generally cite many different sources of information about vaccinations. Secondly, the perception that non-vaccinators are wealthy – and therefore do not rely on welfare payments, nullifying the financial impact of NJNP – was also not supported by this research. Of all the non-vaccinating parents in this survey, nearly one quarter (24.3%) reported that their household income was less than $50 000/annum; more than half (55.7%) reported a total household income of less than $100 000/annum. While these families suffer financial hardship through NJNP, they are not prepared to vaccinate their children in order to have welfare payments reinstated. Approximately one quarter of non-vaccinators reported that they might consider partial immunisation if they could choose what their child was immunised against, and when the vaccination was administered. These parents objected to combination vaccinations (for example, the combined injection to immunise against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, poliomyelitis, and haemophilus influenza type B) and frequency of the vaccination (for example, the above injection at 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months of age). Specifically, these parents said they might consider vaccinating against pertussis only, and only if it could be administered when the child was 2 years old or older.
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Ultimately, all parents in this research, whether they vaccinate or not, believe that they are acting in the best interests of their child and their child’s health. Therefore, NJNP will have no effect on non-vaccinators. The government’s assertion that NJNP has increased immunisation rates is misleading; NJNP has increased immunisation rates amongst parents who have simply forgotten to keep up with their child’s vaccination schedule, but it has not increased immunisation rates amongst non-vaccinators. It was interesting that approximately half of vaccinating parents supported the non-vaccinators in labelling NJNP as an attempt by government to control how people parent. NJNP has effectively turned the vaccination debate into a discussion about parenting rather than a discussion about health.
QUERIES Please contact Dr Bronwyn Harman, b.harman@ecu.edu.au
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