The Impact of Social Networks on Parents’ Vaccination Decisions

Abstract

These results strongly suggest that social networks, and particularly parents' people networks, play an important role in parents' vaccination decision-making.

Interventions to Improve Adolescent Vaccination

“…Surprisingly, exposure to "positive" blogs had no effect when compared with controls. This work, combined with that focused on vaccination in other populations, [60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74] supports the notion that web-based social media can play a powerful role in mediating vaccination intentions and decisions.…”

The Power & Perspective of Mommy Bloggers: Formative Research with Social Media Opinion Leaders about HPV Vaccination

“…Today, mothers' are able to easily seek out vaccination information prior to, between and following visits with their healthcare provider [38]. A recent analysis suggests that parents' social networks play a significant role in vaccine decision-making [39]. This notion is further supported by research that suggests that parents may rely heavily on advice from personal networks in vaccine decision-making [40].…”

What are the factors that contribute to parental vaccine-hesitancy and what can we do about it?

“…[7][8][9][10][11] Parents who follow alternative vaccine schedules or refuse one or more childhood vaccinations are frequently referred to as "vaccine-hesitant" parents (VHPs). [12][13][14] VHPs may have acquired misinformation about the risks and benefits of childhood vaccines through social networks 15 or the internet. 14,16 Yet, health care providers are consistently cited as the most important resource for vaccine information by VHPs, and provider recommendation for vaccination is one of the most important factors to improve vaccine uptake.…”