Running head: PARENTAL REFUSAL OF CHILDHOOD4MMUNIZAPI Parental Refusal of Childhood Immunizations Spencer May Dixie State University petting poe provide ay pl Aspletiieds OW AO Bae and ptov1ke, Knees Cha ch gt0tinte BAL \ “uw have LO L Lhe an : oe aetatir g Aft ALM CePARENTAL REFUSAL OF CHILDHOOD #MMfUNIZAHL 2 Parental Refusal of Childhood Immunizations Immunization is the process by which a person is able to become protected from a disease. This process is typically accomplished by either getting a disease and after recovery the body creates antibodies and said person becomes protected. The second method is through cs vaccinations. In (o7Edvara Jenner discovered that immunity to smallpox could be produced ~ Cite Pesource by inoculating a person with material from a cowpox lesion. By this method the first step to A vaccination was discovered. Vaccinations have advanced and improved the quality of lives of many people since its founding but like in all 3g that are supposedly beneficial there are those who are against them. One of the main arguments is that some say vaccines are harmless while others say they are harmful. This is where the ethical dilemma of parents refusing ais . childhood immunizations comes-e_be. This is a nursing andy healthcare issue because nurses are on the frontline by taking care of the patients and educating the public on the issue. It is a healthcare issue because those who get infected fill the hospitals and increase the risk of infecting other people. A /accination The anti: accination movement has several different beliefs or concerns that help them justify themselves in not getting themselves of their children va jated. One of their major beliefs is that it is their individual right to decide if their children should or should not get Shes vaccinated and that mandatory vaccinations are a violation of this right. In other words they feel like they should have the right to choose to get vaccines because it is a health care decision and in some cases it is a religious one. Another belief is that vaccinations are not effective and that they are harmful to a developing child. One of the arguments this movement uses is that vaccines are made of &, %sPARENTAL REFUSAL OF CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATI 3 dangerous components like thimerosal which contains a form of mercury called ethyl mereury or an that they contain live viruses. It is known that large amounts of mercury g damaging to a developing child’s brain. They also say vaccines are not effective and that many times people who are already vaccinated still get sick. Another reason this movement chooses not to immunize their children is because they 4 believe that immunization cause autism-his camo-t-be-bocause-off study that was published AP \ in 1998 by Andrew Wakefield and seme-oFhis colleaguesttmarclaimed to show a connection Ae ee Ox ACSA between the MMR vaccine and autism. © Ceacsoce, We OD ee Ae pone Le Pro-Immunization r The Pro-Vaccination movement also has reasons why they say a child should get their immunizations. They claim that vaccines are not only safe and effective, but that they are also fairly inexpensive. Because of vaccinations smallpox, a disease that used to kill tens of thousands, of people a year, has officially been eradicated. Many other diseases like’Rolio and Wiphtheria are also non-existent, Most vaccinations are covered under insurance plan or people can get them at clinics at almost no cost. The cost of a vaccination is cheaper than the medical costs of treating the actual disease ‘Another reason this movement recommends that people immunize their children is that there are many children and adults who cannot receive them for health reasons. When the majority of people are vaccinated this helps prevent the spread of the disease and significantly decreases the risk of these children and adults who have a weak or non-existent immune system from getting sick because they are not able to receive the immunization, Whi A the same time this also helps the small group of people that do get the vaccination but may not get the desired “effect and still have the chance of catching the infectiousPARENTAL REFUSAL OF CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATI 4 My Stance | fee! that all children should be vaccinated to achieve immunity. I also feel that in rare cases that there should be exceptions to the rule. A few examples of an exemption would be someone who is allergic to the vaccine or someone who is not able to get the vaccination because it could kill them because of having no immune system. I feel that overall the benefits far outweigh the risks. When all children are getting their immunizations it helps protect the people who are not able to get the vaccination. I also fee! itis important because the other method of getting immunity would be by getting the disease. Many people were severely injured or even killed by these diseases. One example of a disease that would cause severe harm isolio, Many times children would overcome this disease and attain immunity, but the cost of tis immuniy would leave them crippled. When the children have this disease they are also highly contagious, which inereases the risk of other children who are not immune to getting infected with these diseases. I understand that because this is an ethical dilemma and that many people feel that they should be able to choose what goes in their child’s body. I also fee! that is our respons ity to teach these people the right information and help them make an informed di jon. | feel that there isSgmuch misinformation in the world about vaccinations and that if people were taught the truth then there would be less people refusing these vaccinations. Ethical Framework that ; . b The ethical theory Wye best goes along with immunizations of children is eneficence. The idea of beneficence is to do what is good or what will generate the greatest amount of good ‘Dverevit. This ethical theory best reflects immunizations because if people were to choose to immunize their children less people would get sick and many of these preventable diseases ‘would still be almost non-existent. Nurses also need to keep this in mine with vaccinations andPARENTAL REFUSAL OF CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATI 5 ge-outand teach the public about receiving them because of two of the rules of beneficence apply. These two rules are: Prevent harm from occurring to others and remove conditions that will cause harm to others. By teaching and helping people to understand about the importance of vaccinations and immunizing the children nurses are preventing harm from occurring to others by helping prevent these infectious diseases from being spread and at the same time are removing these conditions that will cause harm to others. Conclusion Should parents be required to get their children vaccinated? Is a violation of ones right to be told they have to get vaccinated? Is it right that people by choosing not to get vaccinated put other people at serious tisk of catching an infectious disease that could possibly kill them? These are a few of the many questions that could be asked. While vaccinations have shown that they really are helpful and beneficial to society this is an ethical dilemma that nurses and all healthcare professionals will be dealing with for a long time. Even if the legal courts decide on ‘who is right or who is wrong there will always be a debate and there will never be a black and whit yight or wrong answer Aite RarwL. a bach >i} VADs, Sieh th, BL 00 ahha a bt lernn as *PARENTAL REFUSAL OF CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATI 6 kK. References “ Luthy, Kaslen EDINPTENE, Beckstrand, Roagg LRN;PHB:S:CRNTEN.E., Callistei?Lynn CORN PhDs FatcAN., & Cahoon, SY. (2012). Reasons parents exempt children from receiving immunizations. The Journal of School Nursing, 28(2), 153-60. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/doeview/1012162403 2accountid=27045 Sadaf, A., Richards, J. L., Glanz, J., Salmon, D. A., & Omer, 8. B. (2013). A systematic review of interventions for reducing parental vaccine refusal and vaccine hesitaney. Vaccine, 31(40), 4293-4304, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.07.013, e Salmon, D. A., Moulton, L. H., Omer, S. B., deHart, M. P., & al, e. (2005), Factors associated wy 4% > with refusal of childhood vaccines among parents of school-aged children: A case-control =x, study. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159(5), 470-6. Retrieved from 2. httpsearch,proquest com/docview/1984813587accountid27045 Bichler, K. D. (1997). The primary care provider connection to underimmunization: Knowledge, practices, and perception of barriers that impede timely administration @f childhood Bf Allied immunizations (Order No. 1387279). Available from ProQuest Nur Health Source. (304384002). Retrieved from http:/Isearch.proquest.com/doeview/3043840022accountid=27045 ‘Niederhauser, Victoria P, DrPH, APRN,B.C., PN.P. (2010). Measuring parental barriers to childhood immunizations: The development and validation of the searching for hardships and obstacles to shots (SHOTS) instrument, Journal of Nursing Measurement, 18(1), 26- 35. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/206309382?accountid=27045 — , ak BUMS -Fanic-Hrs Butts, Janie B.; Rich, Keremt--RichrKeren L. (2015-04-02), Nursing Ethics. Jones & Bartlett Learning. Kindle Edition.PARENTAL REFUSAL OF CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATI