Vaccine Safety PERCEPTIONS IN FAMILIES
The topic of vaccine safety is often discussed controversially. In times of globalization and the internet, rumors may spread rapidly influencing public opinion about perceived risks and benefits of vaccines. In 2008, we launched a student-led survey project to learn more about the attitudes and beliefs among parents in Austria with respect to the safety of childhood vaccines. The ViVI Survey 'Perceptions of Vaccine Safety among Parents and Guardians of Children and Adolescents in Vienna, Austria' aimed to close this knowledge gap. Opinions were polled using a pre-validated international survey instrument originally developed at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Our goal was to learn more about the many factors that may come into play when parents think about having their child immunized. We collaborated with the City of Vienna, in order to survey 1000 parents who were picking up their children from kindergarten. We asked in a thorough survey whether parents felt sufficiently informed and how interactions with providers could be improved. We payed attention to differences in opinion regarding specific vaccines in the Austrian immunization schedule, but also to the impact of the news media as well as socio-economic aspects. With this project, we aimed to open up a dialogue with parents to better understand their thinking about infectious disease prevention. Last, but not least, we trained a group of dedicated medical students and future doctors in effective risk communication, vaccinology, and evidence-based medicine.
All five students defended their doctoral thesis with top grades and are busy medical professionals now. A joint paper was published in Current Drug Safety in collaboration with Professor Kundi of the Austrian National Recommending Body on Vaccines and Immunization.
Our goal was to learn more about the many factors that may come into play when parents think about having their child immunized. We collaborated with the City of Vienna, in order to survey 1000 parents who were picking up their children from kindergarten. We asked in a thorough survey whether parents felt sufficiently informed and how interactions with providers could be improved. We payed attention to differences in opinion regarding specific vaccines in the Austrian immunization schedule, but also to the impact of the news media as well as socio-economic aspects. With this project, we aimed to open up a dialogue with parents to better understand their thinking about infectious disease prevention. Last, but not least, we trained a group of dedicated medical students and future doctors in effective risk communication, vaccinology, and evidence-based medicine.
All five students defended their doctoral thesis with top grades and are busy medical professionals now. A joint paper was published in Current Drug Safety in collaboration with Professor Kundi of the Austrian National Recommending Body on Vaccines and Immunization.