'Indeed, I Was Afraid. But I See Now I Shouldn't Have': Voices of Vaccine-Accepting Parents About MMR Vaccination 25 Years After Wakefield's Autism Fallacy.

RATIONALE AND AIM: Over the past two decades several measles outbreaks occurred in Serbia with 15 fatal outcomes because the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine coverage is low. The study purpose was to explore the attitudes of parents of vaccinated children towards the MMR vaccine.

METHODS

This qualitative research was conducted on 40 parents of MMR vaccinated children aged 1-8 years throughout Serbia. Purposive sampling with maximum variation was used. Parents were interviewed while attending regular paediatric check-ups at the primary health centres. Participant selection was finalised when thematic saturation was achieved. Qualitative content analysis was applied.

RESULTS

On average, parents were 36 ± 6 years old. The data were classified according to these themes: (1) General attitudes towards vaccination, (2) Sources of information about the MMR vaccine, (3) Interactions with health care workers, (4) Fear of MMR vaccination and (5) Perceived adverse effects associated with the MMR vaccination. The majority of parents expressed positive attitudes about vaccines in general and was accepting of MMR vaccination. Most parents explained that discussion with the paediatrician about the MMR vaccine was crucial in the process of accepting vaccination. Although one-half of parents were not afraid of the MMR vaccine, the other half of parents were still unable to completely let go of fear that something bad can happen to their child, despite the evidence.

CONCLUSION

The vast majority of parents support MMR vaccination. However, many parents of MMR vaccinated children still expressed lingering fear of adverse effects despite knowing that MMR-autism link was rejected.