Major Finding: The majority (76%) of parents report trusting their child's doctor “a lot,” with the next most likely sources to be trusted other health care providers (26%) and government experts (23%). Family and friends, as well as parents who believe vaccines harmed their children, were considered to be somewhat trustworthy sources by 67% and 65% of the respondents, respectively, whereas celebrities were trusted a lot by 2% and somewhat by 24%.
Data Source: A national online study of 1,552 parents of children aged 17 years or younger.
Disclosures: Dr. Freed and his colleagues involved in the study of sources of vaccine safety information disclosed having no relevant financial disclosures. Dr. Nicola P. Klein of Stanford (Calif.) University, a coinvestigator in the study of the timing of immunization information to mothers, has received research support from GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Sanofi Pasteur, Wyeth, Novartis, and MedImmune. Ms. Vannice was supported in part by a National Institutes of Health Training Grant in International Maternal and Child Health. None of the other investigators in that study said they had any relevant financial disclosures. The study was performed in collaboration between the CDC-funded Vaccine Attitudes and Risk Perception (VARP) and Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) groups.
Most parents trust their children's doctor as the primary source for vaccine safety information, but those who feel physicians do not provide enough information may look to untraditional sources of safety information, including celebrities and parents who believe their own child was harmed by a vaccine, results of one study has shown.
As part of a larger study of parents and nonparents recruited for a national online panel, 1,552 of 2,521 (62%) parents of children aged 17 years or younger responded to a survey about trust of vaccine safety information sources, Dr. Gary L. Freed and his colleagues at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, reported in a supplement to the May issue of Pediatrics.
The survey asked parents if they place “a lot” of trust, “some” trust, or “no” trust in certain individuals or groups who provide vaccine safety information, including their children's doctor, other health care providers, government vaccine experts or officials, family and friends, parents who claim their child was harmed by a vaccine, and celebrities.
“The great majority [76%] of parents report trusting their child's doctor a lot,” the authors wrote, noting that the next most likely sources to be trusted were other health care providers (26%) and government experts (23%).
Family and friends, as well as parents who believe vaccines harmed their children, were considered to be somewhat trustworthy sources by 67% and 65% of the respondents, respectively, whereas celebrities were trusted a lot by 2% and somewhat by 24%, Dr. Freed and his colleagues reported (Pediatrics 2011;127:S107-12).
Although approximately 27% of the respondents reported trusting Web sites from doctor groups, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, “many parents reported that they do not use or view several potential sources of vaccine-safety information,” including government Web sites, magazines and news articles, television programs, pharmaceutical company Web sites, and the Web sites of antivaccine advocates, Dr. Freed and his associates said.
When the data were assessed by gender, there were significant differences.
“Mothers differed from fathers in that mothers were more likely to report some or a lot of trust in vaccine-safety information provided by parents who claim their child was injured by vaccines, celebrities, television shows, and magazines/news articles,” the investigators stated.
With respect to race/ethnicity, white and Hispanic parents were more likely than black parents were to place a lot or some trust in family and friends, while Hispanic parents were more likely than white or black parents were to trust celebrities a lot or some, they wrote.
“Other investigators have found that a significant number of parents feel that physicians do not provide enough information and that public health officials are not trustworthy,” Dr. Freed and his associates said. These parents' beliefs may be seen in the fact that they were more likely to trust celebrities or parents who claim their child was injured by vaccines. Usually, these sources use anecdotal information or personal accounts rather than population-based data or large clinical studies on which to base their perspectives.
The dissonance between health professionals and non–health professionals as trusted sources of vaccine safety information “is shaping the national dialogue on the issue,” the authors wrote, noting that the dissemination of information by untraditional sources is often not in the public's best interest. For example, the finding that 26% of the survey respondents trust celebrities as sources of vaccine safety information “is sobering,” Dr. Freed and his colleagues said.