In response to: Vaccination and vaccine-hesitancy
I want to express my appreciation for the article by Natalie Heywood, DNP, RN, CNE, and Katherine Kenny, DNP, RN, ANP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, for your Vaccination and Vaccine Hesitancy article. As a pediatric nurse practitioner, I know this issue all too well. Vaccine hesitancy is now so prevalent that it has become a daily discussion with clients as well as friends and family, no matter what their age may be. Studies have shown that targeted interventions tailored to parents and guardians impacted their confidence and complacency with vaccine hesitancy (Kopp & Turk, 2023; Washington et al., 2023). So, get out there and start talking. We all should take the time to discuss clients’ and caregivers’ vaccine hesitancy issues to assist our clients and families in moving to vaccination and optimal health.
Kristen Swanson MSN, APRN
South Milwaukee, WI
References
Kopp, S. A., & Turk, D. E. (2023). Human papillomavirus vaccinations: Provider education to enhance vaccine uptake. Clinical Pediatrics, 62(8), 840–848. https://doi.org/10.1177/00099228221147850
Washington, A., Chabaan, J., Fakih, A., Ford, S., Rutledge, L., Lilly, J., Herrera, M. Y., Kim, Y., & Thompson, H. S. (2023). “Why is it so necessary?”: African American parents’ perspectives on delaying and refusing HPV vaccination. Journal of Pediatric Healthcare, 37(4), 373–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2023.01.002
