Issues and Challenges of, Factors that Affect, and the Primary Influences of Parents’ Decisions to Vaccinate their Adolescents: A Case of a Local National High School in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines

Abstract

Vaccines are considered to be the center of the prevention and management of viral diseases. Even with the wide acceptance that vaccines are safe, vaccine hesitancy is still rampant in various parts of the world. Several historical, social, religious, and moral factors were identified and observed to have influence parent’s vaccine acceptance or hesitance. Parent’s vaccine hesitance or acceptance is crucial since adolescents constitute the ideal group for immunization. This study aims to uncover the issues and challenges of parents on vaccination, the factors that affect their decision to vaccinate their children, and parents' primary influences to vaccinate their children. A descriptive-survey research design utilizing a questionnaire floated to parents of adolescents in a local high school. It was found out that the level of education and type of occupation was significantly associated with parent's decision to vaccinate their children. The major issue and challenge of parents toward vaccination is that they don't find vaccines important and have a high level of distrust towards the government's health agency and medical professionals. The primary factor affecting their decision-making is the negative news on vaccination and vaccine safety. Respondents also reported that even they distrust the government's health agency, they still consider it influential towards their vaccine decision-making. With this, it is recommended that efforts be strengthened in restoring the public's trust towards the government health agency to address vaccine hesitancy.