For her doctoral dissertation, Senior Planning Officer Idil Hussein studied the intentions of Finnish parents in terms of allowing their children to have human papillomavirus (HPV) and influenza vaccines. Of the parents included in the study, 83% intended to vaccinate their daughters against HPV, but uptake was even higher, with 88% of girls receiving the vaccine. No significant geographical differences in HPV-vaccination intentions were found. The most common reasons for not vaccinating were a fear of adverse effects and negative news coverage.
In the case of the influenza vaccine, intention and realisation did not align: two thirds of parents intended to vaccinate their child, but only half of the children ultimately received the vaccine. The most commonly cited reason for not vaccinating was the vaccination not being offered by the public health nurse.
Regional differences in vaccination intention were only observed for vaccination against influenza. Factors such as place of residence, the mother's education level, number of children, trust in official information sources and knowledge of influenza influenced parents' vaccination intentions. Vaccination coverage for both HPV and influenza is consistently below the target levels in Finland.
Lies about vaccines spread on social media
Hussein also explored whom parents consider to be the most qualified vaccine experts. Parents valued scientific training, practical experience, emotion regulation and the support of the scientific community. Experts were expected to have good communication skills, be honest and be independent of pharmaceutical companies and politics.
"At maternity and child health clinics, public health nurses also play a key role and have a degree of significant responsibility in improving vaccination coverage," says Idil Hussein.
The results of this research will help design more effective and precise vaccination communication. Furthermore, understanding the factors that influence vaccine hesitancy can help with managing future epidemics.
The debate on vaccination and vaccines is more visible and polarised than before. The COVID-19 pandemic raised a variety of questions about trust, knowledge and expertise. These are the same issues that parents may consider when it comes to standard childhood vaccinations.
“Vaccine hesitancy is by no means a new phenomenon, but social media has contributed to the spread of lies about vaccines. Unfortunately, around the world we are seeing an increase in rates of infectious diseases that had been considered eradicated, partly due to distrust in vaccines and science that has been instilled by those in leadership positions”
Vaccines are effective in reducing deaths
Vaccines are, after clean water, the most effective public health intervention in the world for decreasing morbidity and mortality. However, vaccine hesitancy undermines the success of vaccination programmes and poses a significant public health threat. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified this as one of the ten greatest global health threats.
In Finland, childhood vaccinations are voluntary, free of charge and part of the national vaccination programme. Although vaccination coverage is generally high, there are significant geographical and vaccine-specific differences. Coverage has traditionally been higher in Eastern Finland than in Western Finland, where it remains below the national average for all vaccines.
More information
Idil Hussein's doctoral thesis, examined at the University of Helsinki, Factors associated with parental childhood vaccination intention and expertise: A Finnish population study on influenza and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, is available via Helda .
Senior Planning Officer Idil Hussein, idil.hussein@helsinki.fi, tel.+358 (0)29 5247 319