“Being Persistent without Being Pushy”: Student Reflections on Vaccine Hesitancy

• DOI: 10.1353/nib.2017.0018
• Publication Date: 2017-07-16T13:01:12Z
• Authors: Amy E. Caruso Brown; Manika Suryadevara; Thomas R. Welch; Ann S. Botash
• Keywords: Health Professionals

Our goal as pediatric educators is to graduate physicians who have witnessed effective approaches and grasped the nuances of communication strategies between vaccine-hesitant families health care providers. We identified vaccine hesitancy a recurring topic in 19 304 medical student reflective narratives addressing an issue professionalism or systems-based practice. conducted content analysis on order gain better understanding perceptions visits which they observed provider discussing with parent. four major themes: perceived effectiveness provider-family communication, reaction encounter, physician approach hesitancy, gaps students’ own knowledge. Most students described positively, despite only 4 observing eventual acceptance. Information regarding vaccines, delivery, needs be introduced enhanced educational curriculum providers at all levels, including students, resident physicians, attending ensure that possess comprehension skills ethically optimize uptake among patients.