How Book Sharing May Impact Vaccine Decision-Making: Is Seeing Believing?

Background:  Texas Children’s Hospital published Vaccine-Preventable Disease: The Forgotten Story, a book profiling 17 families affected by vaccine-preventable diseases.  More than 84,000 copies of the book were distributed throughout the U.S.  More than 3,600 copies of the Spanish version and 6,200 posters featuring selected families were distributed.  How physicians and other professionals utilize the book and its subsequent impact on parental immunization decisions is unclear.

Objectives:  To assess medical professional use of Vaccine-Preventable Disease: The Forgotten Story in discussions with vaccine-hesitant parents to guide the development of future immunization education interventions.

Methods:  A purposive sampling of persons who ordered copies of Vaccine-Preventable Disease: The Forgotten Story was performed.  Participants were contacted by phone and/or email.  Responses were summarized and coded for themes.

Results:  To date, 24 qualitative interviews were completed.  Participants included healthcare providers (50%), public health professionals (46%), and educators (4%).  Public health professionals and educators frequently utilized the book in provider education and distributed copies to healthcare providers.  Providers reported distributing the book in exam rooms where all parents could peruse. The book was frequently used to complement medical information in discussion with vaccine-hesitant parents; providers reported a positive influence on parental decision to vaccinate.  Recurrent themes included the impactful nature of real stories, improved awareness regarding the prevalence and severity of vaccine-preventable diseases, and the addition of a personal and emotional dimension to scientific information.

Conclusions:  According to providers, the book is an impactful springboard to conversation with vaccine-hesitant parents as it highlights the emotional and personal aspects to the decision to vaccinate.  All conference attendees will receive free copies of both the updated version of Vaccine-Preventable Disease: The Forgotten Story and the Spanish version, Enfermedades Prevenibles Por Vacunacion: La historia olvidad.