Clinical Practice Column
Time-Efficient Strategies to Ensure Vaccine Risk/Benefit Communication

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2005.06.012Get rights and content

Vaccine risk/benefit communication is a mandatory requirement set forth by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and is essential in enabling parents to make an informed decision about having their children vaccinated. This article is designed to improve vaccine risk/benefit communication in pediatric primary care. Current research related to previous efforts used to educate parents about vaccine safety are reviewed. Time-efficient strategies to improve vaccine risk/benefit communication are recommended. An example of an open communication letter and a list of reputable vaccine information resources are also provided.

Section snippets

Mandatory Vaccine Risk/Benefit Communication

According to the NCVIA (1986), any health care provider who administers a vaccine must provide parents/guardians with a vaccine information statement (VIS) for each vaccine administered. The VIS must be given before every dose and the contents of the VIS, including risks and benefits, must be discussed with parents. Vaccine information statements, which are available in 30 languages, can be downloaded from the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) website, http://www.immunize.org/vis/index.htm.

Time Management: Using Every Teachable Moment

To meet the individual needs of parents and deliver information in a timely manner, layering information is recommended (Ball, Evans, & Bostrom, 1998). Layering information involves presenting education to parents using various formats. Using handouts, videos, and discussions throughout an office visit can enhance vaccine education and address the various learning needs of parents/guardians. Layering education also involves presenting vaccine information on a continuous basis so as not to

Implementing Time-Efficient Strategies

Once the time-efficient strategies are instituted, nurses and providers will have adequately met the legal requirements and parents' expectations of vaccine risk/benefit communication. Providers need to keep in mind that the information in the VIP packet must be updated with current information as it becomes available, including current versions of the VISs. Providers, nurses, and office staff must continue to review current, scientific-based literature and inform parents of any new guideline

References (17)

  • S.M. Coyer

    Understanding parental concerns about immunizations

    Journal of Pediatric Health Care

    (2002)
  • T.C. Davis et al.

    Improving risk/benefit communication with an immunization education package: A pilot study

    Ambulatory Pediatrics

    (2002)
  • Red Book 2003: Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases

  • L.K. Ball et al.

    Risky business: Challenges in vaccine risk communication

    Pediatrics

    (1998)
  • G.L. Bjornson et al.

    Assessment of parent education methods for infant immunization

    Canadian Journal of Public Health

    (1997)
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & Department of Health, & Human Services

    Safer healthier children: A brief introduction to childhood vaccines [vid.]

  • E.W. Clayton et al.

    Parents' responses to vaccine information pamphlets

    Pediatrics

    (1994)
  • T.C. Davis et al.

    Childhood vaccine risk/benefit communication in private practice office settings: A national survey

    Pediatrics

    (2001)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (17)

  • Educating healthcare providers to increase Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates: A Qualitative Systematic Review

    2019, Vaccine: X
    Citation Excerpt :

    Furthermore, communication strategies, specifically how best to initiate the conversation warrant further exploration. An effective interaction can address the concerns of parents and motivate a hesitant parent towards vaccine acceptance [67,68], but providers require support in achieving this challenging communication task conducted in short consultations [69–71]. Organizational websites provide videos (e.g., #HowIRecommend, Same Way Same Day) but whether they are adequately utilized and their effectiveness are unknown.

  • Views of parents regarding human papillomavirus vaccination: A systematic review and meta-ethnographic synthesis of qualitative literature

    2019, Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
    Citation Excerpt :

    Therefore it is essential that healthcare providers are cognisant of these differences. Continuing professional development could facilitate training in adaptable parent engagement, according to proposed recommendations.64–66 This review also describes the limited parental knowledge of HPV, even in those who have already made vaccination decisions for their daughter, in regions where immunisation has been initiated.

  • Provider-parent Communication When Discussing Vaccines: A Systematic Review

    2017, Journal of Pediatric Nursing
    Citation Excerpt :

    Expert literature pertaining to communication practices with vaccine hesitant parents supports the importance of the health care provider-parent interaction. This literature posits that a non-confrontational discussion and having honest communication with the parent would be the best approach (Healy, 2014; Schwartz, 2013; Tenrreiro, 2005). A systematic review by Kaufman et al. (2013) found limited evidence validating that face-to-face interventions (defined as individual counseling to multi-session interventions) led to increased vaccination rates in unimmunized children.

  • Addressing the anti-vaccination movement and the role of HCWs

    2014, Vaccine
    Citation Excerpt :

    Various studies showed the interaction relationship between parents and HCWs as the most important feature to determine the favour to their children's vaccination; an effective communication can help even the most doubtful and sceptical parents to choose vaccination [47,48]. At the beginning the most important recommendations about communicative skills of HCWs were based only on the information given to the parents during the pre-vaccination interview (what to communicate); then the attention turned on to how this interview has to be carried out (how to communicate) [49–51]. For this reason training courses regarding immunization counselling were arranged for HCWs in order to improve their communicative skills [52–54].

View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text