Share Your Opinion On Vaccination

The vaccination debate in Australia is peaking right now, with Malcolm Turnbull recently announcing he plans to make vaccination a must for childcare enrolment.

Opinions vary, and researchers want to hear yours.

Tom Rozbroj is a public health researcher and PhD candidate from La Trobe University. Currently, he’s in the middle of a project to see just what vaccination opinions are like in Australia. This is a not-for-profit research that wants to understand what people’s beliefs about vaccines are, and why they hold those beliefs. It could potentially inform policy in the future, and SAHM wanted to help him out.

So, we interviewed him about his research, and want to encourage you to check out his survey and share your own opinion. You’ll find it at www.vaxstudy.net.

Why Survey?

Being a public health researcher, Tom Rozbroj studies “how we consume health and healthcare communication, to figure out how we can make that communication better”. That means, he’s figuring out how we approach medical advice now, in an internet age, particularly in the realm of vaccination.

Vaccine attitudes are a key issue at the moment in modern Australia. According to Mr. Rozbroj:

“When choosing whether to vaccinate, we make a range of decisions, like who we trust, how we assess risk and benefit, whether we do our own research or simply accept an expert’s advice”

The problem is that there has been a lot of assumptions about vaccine belief, and people who are against vaccinating rarely have a formal platform for explaining their reasoning. Mr. Rozbroj, along with his supervising professors, are very interested in understanding Australia’s vaccination attitudes on all sides of the debate, and they want to go straight from the source. That’s you SAHM readers!

Why Parents Don’t Vaccinate

Mr. Rozbroj notes that, while there hasn’t been a focused study on the topic, researchers do know that vaccine scares do correspond with vaccine drop off rates. So when a (now redacted) 1999 paper linked autism with the MMR vaccine, there was a statistically significant drop in vaccinations that continues to be seen today. Previous vaccine scares have also seen corresponding vaccine rates drop.

However, Mr. Rozbroj thinks that social media may also play a part in changing attitudes to vaccination. Consumers rely on the internet daily, and opinions of all kinds are freely shared, which has almost surely made an impact. The internet creates a “space for live debates”, according to Mr. Rozbroj, representing a “greater diversity of viewpoints”.

About The Survey

The key concept in Mr. Rozbroj’s survey is that “every parent, regardless of what they believe about vaccines, tries really hard to make the best choices for their kids”. However, with the vaccine debate becoming more and more hostile, it can feel impossible to share opinions and attitudes in a way that isn’t going to get you shot down or savaged online.

Instead, Mr. Rozbroj aims to understand all viewpoints of vaccination. So, in the survey, participants will be asked about attitudes to vaccination and other health and broader issues, where they source healthcare information and what information they have on vaccination. They’re also looking at the stigma attached to vaccination views, and how people feel about it.

You Can Help

In order for the survey to be meaningful, Mr. Rozbroj has to hear from a variety of people in Australia. That’s why they’re calling all Australians, with all kinds of attitudes about vaccines, to participate. The only requirement is that you’re over 18. As Mr. Rozbroj says:

“This survey is about understanding differences of opinions about vaccines. So we really want (and need) to hear a diversity of voices. It’s their chance to add their voice to the conversation.”

Mr Rozbroj said that this research collects unbiased data about how vaccine attitudes are related to broader views, behaviour and knowledge in Australia. That means that should the study show those who hold anti-vaccination opinions actually do more research or know more about vaccines, the results will still be published and will go on to inform the policies and practices around vaccination in Australia. So, basically:

“Survey responses will help drive more sensitive, responsive practice, and surely that’s a good thing, irrespective of your attitudes to vaccines.”

If you’re interested in adding your voice, please head to www.vaxstudy.net to participate in the survey. Your opinions are highly valued, and all the information you need is at the link.