“One of the greatest medical success stories:” Physicians and nurses’ small stories about vaccine knowledge and anxieties

Publication date: Available online 20 November 2017 Source:Social Science & Medicine Author(s): Terra Manca In recent years, the Canadian province of Alberta experienced outbreaks of measles, mumps, pertussis, and influenza. Even so, the dominant cultural narrative maintains that vaccines are safe, effective, and necessary to maintain population health. Many vaccine supporters have expressed anxieties that stories that contradict this narrative have lowered herd immunity levels because they frighten the public into avoiding vaccination. As such, vaccine policies often emphasize educating parents and the public about the importance and safety of vaccination. These policies rely on health professionals to encourage vaccine uptake and assume that all professionals support vaccination. Health professionals, however, are socially positioned between vaccine experts (such as immunologists) and non-experts (the wider public). In this article, I discuss health professionals' anxieties of the potential risks associated with vaccination and with the limitations of Alberta's immunisation program. Specifically, I address the question: If medical knowledge overwhelmingly supports vaccination, then why do some professionals continue to question certain vaccines? To investigate this topic, I interviewed twenty-seven physicians and seven nurses. I challenge the common assumption that all health professionals support vaccines with stock images and small stories interviewees shared a...
Source: Social Science and Medicine - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research