Homeschooling parents’ practices and beliefs about childhood immunizations

Thorpe, Elizabeth L.; Zimmerman, Richard K.; Steinhart, Jonathan D.; Lewis, Kathleen N.; Michaels, Marian G.

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.12.019

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Parents' knowledge about vaccination have influence on the positive decisions concerning recommended vaccination of their children 12,17,[22][23][24][25] . In our survey, the group of parents who did not vaccinate their children found negative information about vaccines on the Internet.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandatory and recommended vaccinations in Poland in the views of parents

Kraśnicka¹,

Krajewska-Kułak

Klimaszewska

et al. 2018

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

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Background: Vaccinations are currently the key element in the prevention of the spread of infectious diseases. We studied parents' opinions about mandatory and recommended preventive vaccinations in Poland. Methods: A diagnostic survey using an original questionnaire was done in a group of 300 parents. Results: A total of 3.7% of parents did not vaccinate their children. 90% were aware of the threat potentially posed by infectious diseases, and 73.7% knew that breastfeeding alone does not ensure sufficient protection against them. 28% believed that it is necessary to vaccinate a child against all diseases, 51.7% that the number of vaccinations is insufficient, and 62.7% that vaccine use is safe. 40.7% thought that unvaccinated children should not be able to attend nurseries and kindergartens, as they pose a threat to other children. Postvaccinal adverse events occurred in 21.3% of children, mainly (71.9%) an increase in body temperature above 38°C. 88.3% were informed about possible vaccineinduced complications, most often by nurses (79.7%). 88% of the respondents were aware of the possibility to switch to an alternative immunization program, 92% were informed on the possible administration of recommended vaccines, and 53% took advantage of combined vaccines. Conclusions: Views on vaccinations were mostly varied, depending on the age, sex, education, and financial situation of the respondents. Most of the parents who did not vaccinate their children believed that immunity can be acquired by infection. They were in favor of a limited number of vaccinations, were more critical of the vaccination program in Poland, considered the vaccines used in Poland to be unsafe, and blamed vaccines for multiple developmental defects and autism in children. Parents whose children experienced vaccine-induced adverse reactions were more likely to have doubts before the next vaccination. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandatory and recommended vaccinations in Poland in the views of parents

Kraśnicka¹,

Krajewska-Kułak

Klimaszewska

et al. 2018

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

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“…Our research did not capture information about the growing population of home-schooled children, who are historically overlooked in vaccine and exemption research 13 but found in preliminary studies to be greatly undervaccinated. 14 Finally, through our conversations with state immunization officials, we were able to capture some changes to exemption procedures that occurred without state legislation directing them. However, our findings may not be exhaustive.…”

Section: Study Data and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exempting Schoolchildren From Immunizations: States With Few Barriers Had Highest Rates Of Nonmedical Exemptions

2013

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Rates of nonmedical exemptions from school immunizations are increasing and have been associated with resurfacing clusters of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles. Historically, state-level school immunization policies successfully suppressed such diseases. We examined state immunization exemption regulations across the United States. We assessed procedures for exempting schoolchildren and whether exemption rates were associated with the complexity of the procedures. We also analyzed legal definitions of religious objections and state legislatures' recent modifications to exemption policies. We found that states with simpler immunization exemption procedures had nonmedical exemption rates that were more than twice as high as those in states with more-complex procedures. We also found that the stringency of legal definitions of religious exemptions was not associated with exemption procedure complexity. Finally, we found that although there were more attempts by state legislatures to broaden exemptions than to tighten them in 2011-13, only bills tightening exemptions passed. Policy makers seeking to control exemption rates to achieve public health goals should consider tightening nonmedical exemption procedures and should add vaccine education components to the procedures by either mandating or encouraging yearly educational sessions in schools for parents reluctant to have their children vaccinated.

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“…Similarly, in Oklahoma there were only two reported cases of tetanus in 2012, and both cases were homeschooled children who had no record of vaccination (Johnson et al, 2013). Further, researchers, in a pilot study using email surveys of homeschooling parents in Western Pennsylvania, found that only 38% of homeschool families were fully vaccinated (Thorpe, Zimmerman, Steinhart, Lewis & Michaels., 2012), which is well below the herd immunity threshold for most childhood VPDs, which ranges from 75-94% (Willingham & Helft, 2014).…”

Section: Vaccination and Immunization Exemptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering the fact that homeschooling is a growing trend in the United States (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017) and that homeschooled children are less likely to be subject to and influenced by school vaccination requirements (Khalili & Caplan, 2007;Thorpe, Zimmerman, Steinhart, Lewis, & Michaels, 2012), the vaccination status among homeschooled students must be examined, as there is a concern that these populations have not sustained vaccination rates high enough to achieve herd immunity (Parker et al, 2006;Johnson et al, 2013). To address this need, the current study compared vaccination rate and vaccination opinions between homeschoolers and the public/private school population in Washington State through an online crosssectional survey.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homeschoolers’ Vaccination Perception and Rate

Troupe

Carrol

McWilliams

et al. 2017

CALIF J HEALTH PROMOT

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Background and Purpose: School vaccination laws have played a critical role in ensuring the success of the United States' immunization policy. Recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) in homeschool populations have raised concerns that homeschoolers are under-vaccinated. Little vaccination-related research has been conducted within the homeschool population. To fill the void in the literature, this study explored homeschooling parents' opinions regarding vaccination and examined the vaccination rates of their children in comparison to public/private school population. Methods: A convenience sample of 137 homeschool and public/private school parents in Washington state participated in a 36-question cross-sectional online survey. Results: The homeschooling parents reported significantly lower vaccination rates of their children, lower perceived benefits of vaccination, lower perceived susceptibility to VPDs if unvaccinated, and higher perceived barriers in comparison to the public/private school parents. Overall the participants expressed a preference for less governmental regulation of vaccinations, though homeschooling parents express an even stronger preference for same. Conclusions: Homeschool and public/private school population differed in the vaccination rate and vaccination related opinions. Further research among homeschool population and examination of immunization policy is needed.

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Homeschooling parents’ practices and beliefs about childhood immunizations

Cited by 24 publications

References 11 publications

Mandatory and recommended vaccinations in Poland in the views of parents

Mandatory and recommended vaccinations in Poland in the views of parents

Exempting Schoolchildren From Immunizations: States With Few Barriers Had Highest Rates Of Nonmedical Exemptions

Homeschoolers’ Vaccination Perception and Rate

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