Risk Perceptions and Uncertainty in Parental Concerns about Childhood Vaccination

Abstract

Media reports linking the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, as well as other reports of the thimerosal controversy, have increased levels of public distrust in vaccination. This distrust has led some parents to choose not to vaccinate their children as recommended by their pediatricians. This case study applies Babrow’s (2001) problematic integration theory and the Douglas and Wildavsky’s (1982) cultural theory of risk as it follows a young mother through conversations with a friend who distrusts vaccination, her husband who supports vaccination, and a nurse practitioner, who is willing to address her concerns. The encounters with her “individualist” friend and “hierarchist” husband (as drawn from the cultural theory), as well as the interaction with a nurse practitioner demonstrate how uncertainty about the safety of childhood vaccination can arise.