The topic of vaccination is a crucial one for parents who are faced with the decision to give their child a vaccine. Many doubts and concerns are related to whether the vaccination will be effective and whether it will have side effects, which are widely reported in the media and spread by anti-vaccine movements. The role of the PC doctor is therefore crucial here, in order to provide parents with the most important and relevant information, and to dispel any doubts about making such a decision.
Today's medical developments make it possible to quickly diagnose and treat many of the diseases afflicting the population, but the medical knowledge acquired is also used to prevent the development of diseases. The basis for any medical action, from prevention to proper diagnosis and treatment, is the informed consent of the patient for any medical procedure. This is a fundamental right of the patient and is a value that should be widely respected in the medical community. However, there are situations in which this right is curtailed in the context of a 'higher necessity' such as public health or epidemiology [1].
Compulsory immunisation
The first compulsory immunizations appeared in Poland as early as the beginning of the 19th century, when they were made compulsory in 1919 in order to prevent the spread of diseases such as smallpox. The years 1955-1963 saw the formation of the immunization programme in Poland, which included a list of all diseases against which one had to be vaccinated, as well as the procedures according to which these vaccinations had to be performed.
At present, the annually updated vaccination calendar, which is developed on the basis of data coming from the observation of the epidemiological situation in Poland and also in accordance with WHO recommendations, shows the number of vaccinations that fall on particular periods of life, starting from the first day up to the 19th year of life. In order to do all of them, in accordance with the recommendations and in accordance with the calendar, it is necessary for the doctor to cooperate with the parents, who are currently more and more often refraining from giving their child preventive vaccinations. This is heavily influenced by media messages, negative opinions and all the anti-vaccine movements. All this has an impact on the doubts that parents have before deciding to vaccinate their children [2].
What is a vaccine?
A vaccine is a biological preparation that contains an antigen or group of antigens in its composition. The action of a vaccine is to introduce an antigen into the body, which becomes immune to a specific pathogen. Vaccines themselves can be divided into live, killed or recombinant, and their action cannot be positively defined due to the fact that - like any therapeutic preparation - they can also have side-effects, hypersensitivity reactions or allergic reactions, the severity of which varies from vaccine to vaccine. Symptoms of allergic or hypersensitivity reactions can manifest themselves in many forms: swelling, redness, erythema; through reactions from other systems of the human body to anaphylactic shock, although this is considered an extremely rare side effect [3].
Parents' perception of vaccination
The vast majority of parents are in favour of vaccinating their children, as evidenced by the statistics in the form of the high number of vaccinations carried out. Nevertheless, an increasing number of parents are choosing not to take the step of vaccinating their child, and the trend is upward, with as many as 23,000 cases of their child not being vaccinated reported in 2017.
Parents' attitudes towards immunisation vary widely.
photo: panthermedia
Some parents accept it completely, considering vaccination to be safe and necessary to keep their child healthy and to ensure proper development.
Undecided parents usually vaccinate their children, but they have doubts about the validity of this action and have concerns about its effectiveness or safety, so in this situation, the parents' attention is focused on the disadvantages and not on the potential benefits of vaccination. If the hesitant parent does not receive comprehensive and satisfactory answers from the doctor, a situation may arise in which the doctor refuses to give the vaccine to the child.
Parents, with an attitude of moderate opposition, express their concerns about certain diseases. They seek information and knowledge from a variety of sources, so they often have doubts about who to believe and who to trust.
The most difficult to convince group of parents are those who express strong opposition to giving their child a vaccination. This is often related to their world view, their faith or negative experiences they have had in the course of their lives [4].
