TDNet Discover

The United States has recently been displayed in social media for the drastic increase in rates of measles outbreaks. What is even more startling is that measles was declared eradicated in the United States in 2003 and is preventable with a series of vaccinations. The purpose of this survey research was to identify the factors which play a role in people's decision to vaccinate either themselves and/or their children. This research was designed to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data regarding the decision to vaccinate by adults in the United States. PubMed was the scholarly database used in a preliminary literature search prior to the survey design and distribution. Search terms included “vaccinations”, “influencing factor”, and “anti-vaccinations”. From the database, 13 peer-reviewed articles were analyzed by the researchers for its significance related to this study. Based on findings in similarly designed studies, a survey was developed through online survey service Qualtrics in which US adults 18 years or older could indicate their vaccine opinions (such as if they or their children will received/have already received all available vaccines or not) and the reasoning behind their choice. Following a pilot period, the survey was distributed via social media and 436 individuals responded. The gross results of this study reveal that majority of the participants’ decision to vaccinate was influenced by physicians;the only statistically significant data found, supports the statement people 45-59 years of age decided to vaccinate their children because of the influence of their physician. The remainder of the data from the logistic regression revealed that there is no significant association between the participant's age, race/ethnicity, or gender and whether or not their decision to vaccinate themselves is dependent on something other than their physician. The data gathered from this study concluded that clinicians provided significant contribution to an individual’s decision regarding vaccinations. Clinicians possess distinctive roles to help patients make FACTORS REGARDING VACCINATIONS v important health decisions through education, and with more information obtained concerning the contributing factors regarding vaccinations, providers can customize their teaching methods to more effectively reach their patients with the ultimate goal of increasing vaccination rates throughout all of the United States. To advance the findings of this research, further studies should be done to determine if demographics also influence a patient’s decision-making process regarding vaccinations.