UK parents’ decision-making about measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccine 10 years after the MMR-autism controversy: A qualitative analysis
VaccinePublished 9 January 2012
Katrina Brown, Susannah Long, Mary Ramsay, Michael J. Hudson, John Green, Charles Vincent
Citations129
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.25
SNIP0.97
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
This study corroborated some previous qualitative work but indicated that the shrinking group of parents now rejecting MMR comprises mainly those with more extreme and complex anti-immunisation views, whilst parents opting for single vaccines may use second-hand information about the controversy.
Abstract
This study corroborated some previous qualitative work but indicated that the shrinking group of parents now rejecting MMR comprises mainly those with more extreme and complex anti-immunisation views, whilst parents opting for single vaccines may use second-hand information about the controversy. In response, policymakers and practitioners should revise their expectations of today's MMR decision-makers, and their methods for supporting them.
Keywords
Immunology and MicrobiologySocial SciencesMedicine
Sage eBooksBasics of qualitative research : techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory
38,901 Citations1998Anselm L. Strauss, Juliet Corbin
Constructing grounded theory : a practical guide through qualitative analysis
18,755 Citations2006Kathy Charmaz
K Kathy Charmaz's excellent and practical guide to grounded theory in nursing and how to do qualitative research in nursing is welcomed.
International Journal of Qualitative MethodsVerification Strategies for Establishing Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research
4,938 Citations2002Janice M. Morse, Michael Barrett +3 more
Psychology and HealthWhat is an adequate sample size? Operationalising data saturation for theory-based interview studies
3,149 Citations2009Jill Francis, Marie Johnston +5 more
This work proposes principles for deciding saturation in theory-based interview studies, and demonstrates these principles in two studies, based on the theory of planned behaviour, designed to identify three belief categories (Behavioural, Normative and Control).
The LancetRETRACTED: Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children
2,933 Citations1998A J Wakefield, SH Murch +11 more
Qualitative Research in Health Care
2,708 Citations2006
BMJQualitative Research: Rigour and qualitative research
2,673 Citations1995Nicholas Mays, Catherine Pope
Milbank QuarterlyTrust in Physicians and Medical Institutions: What Is It, Can It Be Measured, and Does It Matter?
1,485 Citations2001Mark A. Hall, Elizabeth Dugan +2 more
A formal definition and conceptual model of trust is presented, with a review of the extent to which this model has been confirmed by empirical studies.
Qualitative Health ResearchAppraising the Evidence: Reviewing Disparate Data Systematically
1,217 Citations2002Sheila Hawker, Sheila Payne +3 more
Although many of the problems encountered were related to the critical assessment of qualitative research, the authors argue that the method of systematic review can be adapted for use with different data and across disciplines.
American PsychologistThe seven sins of memory: Insights from psychology and cognitive neuroscience.
1,087 Citations1999Daniel L. Schacter
How and why memory can get us into trouble is examined and it is argued that the 7 sins may appear to reflect flaws in system design, but are actually by-products of otherwise adaptive features of memory.
Psychological BulletinThe psychology of doing nothing: Forms of decision avoidance result from reason and emotion.
983 Citations2003Christopher J. Anderson
Findings are related by common antecedents and consequences in a rational-emotional model of the factors that predispose humans to do nothing: choice deferral, status quo bias, omission bias, and inaction inertia.
Epidemiologic ReviewsHerd Immunity: History, Theory, Practice
904 Citations1993Paul Fine
This new popularity of herd immunity comes as a consequence of several recent major achievements of vaccination programs, i.e.: the historic success of the global smallpox eradication program; dramatic increases in vaccination coverage stimulated by national programs and by the Expanded Programme on Immunization.
The LancetCONSEQUENCES OF CONFIRMED MATERNAL RUBELLA AT SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF PREGNANCY
626 Citations1982Elizabeth Miller, JohnE. Cradock-Watson +1 more
Investigation of cases of confirmed rubella infection at different stages of pregnancy and the findings in infected children being compared with those in children who had escaped infection found no defects attributable to rubella.
Journal of Epidemiology & Community HealthEvidence, hierarchies, and typologies: horses for courses: Table 1
545 Citations2003Mark Petticrew, H Roberts
An emphasis on methodological appropriateness, and on typologies rather than hierarchies of evidence may be helpful in organising and appraising public health evidence.
Journal of Transcultural NursingA Discussion of Chain Referral As a Method of Sampling Hard-to-Reach Populations
535 Citations2003Janice Penrod, Deborah Bray Preston +2 more
When carefully planned and executed, this sampling design offers transcultural nurse researchers a reasonable method for accessing and studying special populations that are particularly hard-to-reach.
The LancetMumps
521 Citations2008Anders Hviid, Steven A. Rubin +1 more
Routine vaccination has proven highly effective in reducing the incidence of mumps, and is presently used by most developed countries; however, there have been outbreaks of disease in vaccinated populations.
Health & Social Care in the CommunityWhy ethnic minority groups are under-represented in clinical trials: a review of the literature
434 Citations2004Mahvash Hussain‐Gambles, Karl Atkin +1 more
A narrative review of the available literature, based mainly on US studies, aims to make sense of the issues around under-representation by providing a theoretical reconciliation and offers a number of strategies for improving ethnic minority accrual rates in clinical trials.
VaccineFactors underlying parental decisions about combination childhood vaccinations including MMR: A systematic review
402 Citations2010Katrina Brown, J. Simon Kroll +7 more
Interventions should focus on detailed decision mechanisms including disease-related anticipated regret and perception of anecdotal information as statistically representative in line with parents' attitudes to combination childhood vaccinations.
Journal of Clinical EpidemiologySystematic review of qualitative studies exploring parental beliefs and attitudes toward childhood vaccination identifies common barriers to vaccination
376 Citations2005Edward J. Mills, Alejandro R. Jadad +2 more
Systematically reviewing qualitative studies on barriers to childhood vaccination provided important information on barriers that are consistently identified by parents in several different studies.
VaccineA survey of UK parental attitudes to the MMR vaccine and trust in medical authority
232 Citations2005Rachel Casiday, Tricia Cresswell +2 more
The findings suggest that the ability of practitioners to provide effective professional advice about MMR vaccine could be undermined if a government were to directly promote the vaccine to parents.
Medical Decision MakingOmission Bias and Pertussis Vaccination
208 Citations1994David A. Asch, Jonathan Baron +5 more
Omission bias plays a role in decisions not to vaccinate with pertussis vaccine, beyond the role played by belief about the risk of vaccination.
Current Medical Research and OpinionFactors associated with suboptimal compliance to vaccinations in children in developed countries: a systematic review
200 Citations2008Matthew E. Falagas, Effie A. Zarkadoulia
By recognizing and understanding factors associated with suboptimal compliance to vaccinations the authors can better approach the risk populations and target their efforts at stressing and reinforcing the vital importance of immunizations.
Child Care Health and DevelopmentWhy do parents decide against immunization? The effect of health beliefs and health professionals
193 Citations2003M. S. Smailbegovic, G Laing +1 more
The decision-making process around childhood immunization is complex and parents require information that is up to date, tailored to their individual needs and provided by health professionals who are well informed.
PubMedParents' perspectives on the MMR immunisation: a focus group study.
192 Citations2001Maggie Evans, Helen Stoddart +4 more
To investigate what influences parents' decisions on whether to accept or refuse the primary MMR immunisation and the impact of the recent controversy over its safety, a qualitative study using focus group discussions.
Health Risk & SocietyHealth risk communication and amplification: learning from the MMR vaccination controversy
184 Citations2004Judith Petts, Simon Niemeyer
A study of information strategies that parents use to make sense of health risk issues, particularly MMR identifies a preference for personal and face-to-face engagement with health professionals, stressing the importance of user-centred health risk communication.
VaccineVaccine risks: real, perceived and unknown
170 Citations1999Robert T. Chen
Modernization of the vaccine safety infrastructure commensurate with the current investment in vaccine development will be needed if the full promise of new vaccines made possible by the biotechnology revolution are likely to be fulfilled.
BMJFactors associated with uptake of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) and use of single antigen vaccines in a contemporary UK cohort: prospective cohort study
166 Citations2008Anna Pearce, Catherine Law +3 more
Although MMR uptake in this cohort is high, a substantial proportion of children remain susceptible to avoidable infection, largely because parents consciously decide not to immunise.
PEDIATRICSErrors and Correlates in Parental Recall of Child Immunizations: Effects on Vaccination Coverage Estimates
163 Citations1997Lucina Suarez, Diane M. Simpson +1 more
Validity of parental recall of children's immunization histories depends on the vaccine and the age of the child, which is highly correlated with the number of shots parents must recollect.
The Journal of Infectious DiseasesMeasles in the United States during the Postelimination Era
145 Citations2010Amy Parker Fiebelkorn, Susan B. Redd +5 more
The United States maintained measles elimination from 2001 through 2008 because of sustained high vaccination coverage and challenges to maintaining elimination include large outbreaks of measles in highly traveled developed countries, frequent international travel, and clusters of US residents who remain unvaccinated because of personal belief exemptions.
PubMedEstimating vaccination coverage using parental recall, vaccination cards, and medical records.
123 Citations1998Paul Bolton, Elizabeth Holt +3 more
Analysis of parent interview and medical records data from the Baltimore Immunization Study for 525 2-year-olds born from August 1988 through March 1989 to mothers living in low-income Census tracts of the city of Baltimore found population-based vaccine coverage surveys that rely on vaccination cards or parental recall or both may overestimate coverage.
VaccineTracking mothers’ attitudes to MMR immunisation 1996–2006
116 Citations2007Alan Smith, Joanne Yarwood +1 more
There now appears to be a sustained move away from fears over MMR safety and belief in the unfounded link to autism towards a more positive perception of the vaccine.
VaccineOmission bias and vaccine rejection by parents of healthy children: Implications for the influenza A/H1N1 vaccination programme
100 Citations2010Katrina Brown, J. Simon Kroll +6 more
Any vaccine is at a disadvantage in many parents' consciousness in comparison with the infection itself, and that minor safety concerns could have disproportionately detrimental effects on vaccine uptake.
Social Science & Medicine‘Avoiding harm to others’ considerations in relation to parental measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination discussions – An analysis of an online chat forum
96 Citations2008Zoë Skea, Vikki Entwistle +2 more
Findings from a UK study of discussions about MMR in an online chat forum for parents suggest that social scientists with an interest in vaccination practice should attend carefully to lay understandings of herd immunity as a public good and views about obligations to others in society.
VaccineFeeling bad about immunising our children
75 Citations2004Abigail L. Wroe, Angela Bhan +2 more
Investigating parental decisions about MMR and single vaccinations concluded that parents' decisions are strongly influenced by the idea that harm that occurs as a result of deciding to immunise is less acceptable than harm that happens when deciding not to Immunise.
Social Science & Medicine“I don't believe in needles”: Qualitative aspects of a study into the uptake of infant immunisation in two english health authorities
60 Citations1991Suzanne J. New, M L Senior
It is argued that it is a mistake to label parental decision-making as 'irrational' when one takes into account the interaction between personal experience, differing levels of advice and the impact of constraints, notably gender role constraints, as they affect women with young children.
VaccineAttitudinal and demographic predictors of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine acceptance: Development and validation of an evidence-based measurement instrument
51 Citations2010Katrina Brown, Ruth Shanley +11 more
Health Informatics JournalA content analysis of mass media sources in relation to the MMR vaccine scare
51 Citations2008Louise Guillaume, Peter A. Bath
The analysis showed that the content and format of articles between different information sources varied widely, which provides a challenge to parents who were shown to be using the mass media as an information source.
PLoS ONEAttitudinal and Demographic Predictors of Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine (MMR) Uptake during the UK Catch-Up Campaign 2008–09: Cross-Sectional Survey
50 Citations2011Katrina Brown, Graham Fraser +11 more
Catch-up MMR invitations may effectively move children from 0 to 1 MMR doses (unimmunised to partially immunised), whilst attitudinal interventions highlighting social benefits of MMR may effectively moved children from 1 to 2 MMR dose (partially to fully immunised).
The Medical Journal of AustraliaThe validity of parental report of vaccination as a measure of a child's measles immunisation status
50 Citations1991Penelope Hawe, Andrew Wilson +5 more
To determine the validity of parental report of vaccination as a measure of a child's measles immunisation status, a large number of parents believe that their child should be vaccinated.
Psychology Health & MedicineBeliefs underlying UK parents' views towards MMR promotion interventions: A qualitative study
44 Citations2010Benjamin Gardner, Anna Davies +2 more
Five underlying psychological themes are identified: parents' information needs, distrust of government sources, trust of other parents, attentional biases towards risk information and problems of achieving “balance” in MMR information provision.
Archives of Disease in ChildhoodMMR: where are we now?
42 Citations2007David Elliman, Helen Bedford
There is no scientific evidence of a link between bowel disease and/or autism and MMR vaccine and Attainment of a high uptake of the vaccine should be encouraged.
Qualitative Research in Health Care: Third Edition
42 Citations2007Catherine Pope, Nicholas Mays
Child Care Health and DevelopmentParents' views about pre‐school immunization: an interview study in southern England
41 Citations2009Sarah Tickner, Patrick J. Leman +1 more
Findings indicate the potential value of playgroup or pre-school involvement and the need for improved communication with children about immunization and have important implications for providing parents with timely information about boosters and the two-dose MMR programme.
Psychological ScienceBiased Forecasting of Postdecisional Affect
41 Citations2007Nick Sevdalis, Nigel Harvey
Two studies report that subjects who made reasonably high offers and marginally underpredicted the regret that they experienced when they received higher marks than they had expected for their course work.
Journal of Paediatrics and Child HealthSecrets to success: A qualitative study of perceptions of childhood immunisations in a highly immunised population
26 Citations2008Marie Tarrant, Neil Thomson
This study explored childhood immunisations with a sample of parents from a population where children have high vaccination coverage and to identify factors which might encourage uptake in other populations.
BMJMMR vaccine and autism
23 Citations2010Helen Bedford, David Elliman
Health professionals must enter the public arena if future debacles are to be prevented, according to a report in the British Journal of Public Health.
PubMedParents' difficulties with decisions about childhood immunisation.
22 Citations2008Helen Austin, Charles Campion‐Smith +2 more
This study explores the decision-making by parents about their children's immunisation through focus groups with analysis to identify categories of concern and issues raised in focus groups included fear, risk, anger, worry and guilt, confusion, difficulty of decision- making and trust of professionals.
The LancetMeasles in Europe—there is room for improvement
16 Citations2009Jacques R. Kremer, Claude P. Muller
PubMedUncertainty, decision-making and trust: lessons from the MMR controversy.
13 Citations2006Rachel Casiday
In focus groups and interviews involving 87 parents, three distinct strategies for dealing with uncertainty emerged: reducing complexity through trust, compromise strategies that embrace ambivalence and identifying vulnerable groups.