Factors that influence parental and caregiver acceptance of routine childhood vaccination: Summary of a qualitative evidence synthesis

Authors

  • S Cooper Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa; School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
  • B-M Schmidt School of Public Health, Faculty of Community Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
  • A Swartz School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
  • C J Colvin School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA;Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, USA
  • N Leon Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, USA; Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
  • EZ Sambala School of Public Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi
  • A Jaca Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
  • N Gloeck Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
  • N Pillay School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa 11 Sarraounia Public Health Trust, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • T Kredo Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa; School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa; Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
  • C Wiysonge Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa; School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa;HIV and Other Infectious Diseases Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Durban, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2022.v112i12.16766

Keywords:

South Africa, public health

Abstract

We summarise a Cochrane review of qualitative evidence that explored parents’ views and practices around routine childhood vaccination, and provide implications for research and practice that are relevant to the South African (SA) context. Many public health interventions to encourage vaccination are informed by an assumption that vaccine hesitancy is due to a lack of knowledge or irrational forms of thinking. The findings from this review suggest that childhood vaccination views and practices are complex social processes that are shaped by multiple factors and carry a variety of meanings. As such, we suggest that biomedical approaches must be supplemented by more nuanced and sociopolitically informed strategies for enhancing and sustaining childhood vaccination practices in SA.

References

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Published

2022-12-01

Issue

Vol. 112 No. 12 (2022)

Section

In Practice

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Copyright (c) 2022 S Cooper, B-M Schmidt, A Swartz, C J Colvin, N Leon, EZ Sambala, A Jaca, N Gloeck, N Pillay, T Kredo, C Wiysonge

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How to Cite

1.
Cooper S, Schmidt B-M, Swartz A, Colvin CJ, Leon N, Sambala E, et al. Factors that influence parental and caregiver acceptance of routine childhood vaccination: Summary of a qualitative evidence synthesis. S Afr Med J [Internet]. 2022 Dec. 1 [cited 2025 Oct. 30];112(12):890-1. Available from: https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/samj/article/view/536