A study into childhood vaccinations; comparing the views of parents/carers who choose to take up the MMR vaccination and those who do not with consideration for what influences their decisions

This independent project set out to research the uptake of the combined MMR vaccination, to find out which participants vaccinated their child/ren and which ones did not. I was particularly interested in finding out what, if anything, influenced their decisions about vaccinating. Another interest was whether or not the research published by Wakefield et al (1998) that claimed the combined MMR caused autism amongst children had any impact on the participants’ decision making process.\ud \ud A qualitative approach was taken, although I wanted to obtain qualitative and quantitative data. The aim was to find out which parents/carers vaccinated their child/ren and which ones did not, which is quantifiable data. The reasons for their decision is qualitative.\ud \ud To obtain the data, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire which had a variation of open and closed questions. The results came as a surprise as I had anticipated more parents/carers to have had stronger views on the combined MMR vaccination – something which has been a theme in my household as my mother chose not to vaccinate my younger siblings until they were older.\ud \ud Using the background variables to compare responses showed some surprising results especially in relation to occupation. I was under the impression that nurses, working in the medical field were accepting of general medicine, and would therefore be for the acceptance of the combined MMR vaccine.\ud \ud My concluding thoughts would be to never judge someone based on their decision, as it is not always something that has been made so easily. Some of the decisions were heartfelt and may have caused some participants a degree of stress or tension. The research has caused me to consider the impact media has on our day to day lives and how we, as a population should pay less attention to it, and more attention to the facts before we make drastic and potentially dangerous decisions, especially those concerning our children