Background
- Research has shown that an intact physician-patient relationship is the number one factor for trust in vaccines and immunization.
- Practicing paediatricians spend one hour per workday on average on vaccine safety consultations.
- Less than half of these doctors have ever received any formal training in this area.
- Most pediatricians believe they have seen vaccine adverse events during their clinical practice, but only one in five would know where to report them.
- Solid physician know-how is critical to improving and sustaining trust in vaccines.
Ideation
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A Design Thinking project in Germany revealed that first-time parents, young doctors and medical students often avoid the ‘vaccine-topic' altogether, out of fear of a contentious debate. The birth of a first child is the most critical time when new parents form a lasting opinion on immunisation. In most European healthcare settings, first vaccine consultations take place at the most difficult time point, i.e. right after the birth of a child. This is when parents are already suffering from sleep deprivation, information overload and exhaustion.
What we need is a closer integration between pediatricians, nurses and prenatal care providers (obstetricians and midwives) to help expecting parents through this important transition period. This means that all specialists involved in perinatal care will need adequate training. Pediatricians are well-positioned to help bridge that gap. Providing a positive, non-threatening experience during prenatal and well-child visits will allow the medical team to build a trusting relationship with the family. |
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Design Challenge
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Vaccine consultations are more effective when the doctor is well-trained on the subject. Parents want to be engaged in a mutually respectful dialogue where the expert will listen to their concerns, answer questions diligently and truthfully, and acknowledge that parents want only the best for their children. The current healthcare system allows only limited time for vaccine consultations. The better trained the clinicians are, the more likely they will be able to make the best of the little time they have.
Training opportunities are often scattered, and reliable up-to-date information on new vaccines, indications and contraindications is not always easy to find. With new vaccines and scientific data emerging constantly, it may be difficult for busy healthcare professionals to keep up. For busy medical students and physicians, it will be critical to have educational materials easily accessible and available. |
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References
1. Hoffman BL, Felter EM, Chu KH, et al. It's not all about autism: The emerging landscape of anti-vaccination sentiment on Facebook. Vaccine 2019; 37(16): 2216-23.
2. Commission EU. Strengthened Cooperation against Vaccine Preventable Diseases. April 26, 2018. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/GA/TXT/?uri=COM:2018:245:FIN (accessed May 5 2018).
3. Council EU. Council recommendation on strengthened cooperation against vaccine- preventable diseases. December 7, 2018. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/GA/TXT/? uri=OJ:JOC_2018_466_R_0001 (accessed 30 December 2018.
4. Kundi M, Obermeier P, Helfert S, et al. The impact of the parent-physician relationship on parental vaccine safety perceptions. Current drug safety 2015; 10(1): 16-22.
5. Larson HJ, Clarke RM, Jarrett C, et al. Measuring trust in vaccination: A systematic review. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2018; 14(7): 1599-609.
6. Mc Hugh SM, Browne J, O'Neill C, Kearney PM. The influence of partial public reimbursement on vaccination uptake in the older population: a cross-sectional study. BMC public health 2015; 15: 83.
7. Holt D, Bouder F, Elemuwa C, et al. The importance of the patient voice in vaccination and vaccine safety-are we listening? Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the 8. European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2016; 22 Suppl 5: S146-s53.
9. Rath B, Muhlhans S, Gaedicke G. Teaching vaccine safety communication to medical students and health professionals. Current drug safety 2015; 10(1): 23-6.
10. Muehlhans S, von Kleist M, Gretchukha T, et al. Awareness and utilization of reporting pathways for adverse events following immunization: online survey among pediatricians in Russia and Germany. Paediatric drugs 2014; 16(4): 321-30.
11. Seeber L, Michl B, Rundblad G, et al. A design thinking approach to effective vaccine safety communication. Current drug safety 2015; 10(1): 31-40.
12. Broniatowski DA, Jamison AM, Qi S, et al. Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate. Am J Public Health 2018; 108(10): 1378-84.
13. Maurer W, Seeber L, Rundblad G, et al. Standardization and simplification of vaccination records. Expert Rev Vaccines 2014; 13(4): 545-59.
14. Oubari H, Tuttle R, Rath B, Bravo L. Communicating vaccine safety to the media and general public. Current drug safety 2015; 10(1): 80-6.
15. Dornbusch HJ, Hadjipanayis A, Del Torso S, et al. We strongly support childhood immunisation-statement from the European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP). European journal of pediatrics 2017; 176(5): 679-80.
16. Grossman Z, van Esso D, Del Torso S, et al. Primary care pediatricians' perceptions of vaccine refusal in europe. The Pediatric infectious disease journal 2011; 30(3): 255-6.
2. Commission EU. Strengthened Cooperation against Vaccine Preventable Diseases. April 26, 2018. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/GA/TXT/?uri=COM:2018:245:FIN (accessed May 5 2018).
3. Council EU. Council recommendation on strengthened cooperation against vaccine- preventable diseases. December 7, 2018. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/GA/TXT/? uri=OJ:JOC_2018_466_R_0001 (accessed 30 December 2018.
4. Kundi M, Obermeier P, Helfert S, et al. The impact of the parent-physician relationship on parental vaccine safety perceptions. Current drug safety 2015; 10(1): 16-22.
5. Larson HJ, Clarke RM, Jarrett C, et al. Measuring trust in vaccination: A systematic review. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2018; 14(7): 1599-609.
6. Mc Hugh SM, Browne J, O'Neill C, Kearney PM. The influence of partial public reimbursement on vaccination uptake in the older population: a cross-sectional study. BMC public health 2015; 15: 83.
7. Holt D, Bouder F, Elemuwa C, et al. The importance of the patient voice in vaccination and vaccine safety-are we listening? Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the 8. European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2016; 22 Suppl 5: S146-s53.
9. Rath B, Muhlhans S, Gaedicke G. Teaching vaccine safety communication to medical students and health professionals. Current drug safety 2015; 10(1): 23-6.
10. Muehlhans S, von Kleist M, Gretchukha T, et al. Awareness and utilization of reporting pathways for adverse events following immunization: online survey among pediatricians in Russia and Germany. Paediatric drugs 2014; 16(4): 321-30.
11. Seeber L, Michl B, Rundblad G, et al. A design thinking approach to effective vaccine safety communication. Current drug safety 2015; 10(1): 31-40.
12. Broniatowski DA, Jamison AM, Qi S, et al. Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate. Am J Public Health 2018; 108(10): 1378-84.
13. Maurer W, Seeber L, Rundblad G, et al. Standardization and simplification of vaccination records. Expert Rev Vaccines 2014; 13(4): 545-59.
14. Oubari H, Tuttle R, Rath B, Bravo L. Communicating vaccine safety to the media and general public. Current drug safety 2015; 10(1): 80-6.
15. Dornbusch HJ, Hadjipanayis A, Del Torso S, et al. We strongly support childhood immunisation-statement from the European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP). European journal of pediatrics 2017; 176(5): 679-80.
16. Grossman Z, van Esso D, Del Torso S, et al. Primary care pediatricians' perceptions of vaccine refusal in europe. The Pediatric infectious disease journal 2011; 30(3): 255-6.