Concern about health professionals discouraging vaccinations

Health care providers are responsible for 18 per cent of discouraging information given to pregnant women about vaccinations. Photo/File

Alternative health care practitioners, dieticians, nutritionists and antenatal class leaders are the health care providers most likely to give negative advice about immunisations, a new study has found.

A new study from the University of Auckland Centre for Longitudinal Research, published in Pediatrics today, found health care providers were responsible for about 18 per cent of discouraging information abotu immunisations given to pregnant women.

The study surveyed more than 6000 pregnant women and found 152 of those women received a negative message from a health care provider about infant immunisation.

The study also found women who received discouraging advice about immunisation, even if they also received positive messages, were less likely to have their infants immunised on time at six-weeks, three-months and five-months.

Study senior author Professor Cameron Grant said he was concerned to see one in six women who recalled receiving discouraging information identified health care providers as a source of that information.

"It is clear that pregnant women receiving information which discourages infant immunisation has a negative effect on subsequent health care delivery to that infant, even when they have also received information which encourages immunisation," he said.

Fifty-seven per cent of women who received only discouraging information about immunisation had their newborn immunised on time compared to 61 per cent of women who received mixed messages about the treatment and 73 per cent of women who received encouraging advice.

More than half the women surveyed (66 per cent) said they did not recall getting any advice about immunisations. Of those mothers, 71 per cent had their children immunised on time.

Cameron said he was most concerned the majority of pregnant women did not receive any information about immunising their newborns.

While the advice given by most health care providers was positive, Cameron said he did not think any medical professionals should be discouraging immunisation.

Getting encouraging information about immunisation was no more effective in getting babies vaccinated on time than receiving no information but the ambiguity created by getting mixed messages was concerning and needed more attention, he said.

"We cannot prevent pregnant women from being exposed to information discouraging immunisation, but we can improve the ways in which we deliver encouraging information and ensure that they meet the information needs of everyone."

Alternative health care providers most commonly gave discouraging advice with 82 per cent of women who received immunisation information from them receiving negative or mixed advice. Of the women who got advice from dieticians or nutritionists, 60 per cent got discouraging information and in antenatal classes 21 per cent of women walked away with mixed or negative advice.

That compared to discouraging or mixed advice coming from two per cent of GPs, 6 per cent of midwives and 3 per cent of obstetricians.

Not being immunised on time increased the chance of a baby getting a vaccine preventable disease, Cameron said.

"Children are five times more likely to be hospitalised with whooping cough under one year of age than when they get them on time," he said.

While immunisation rates had improved in recent years, it remained an issue that needed to be talked about and encouraged more, he said.

Ministry of Health data showed infant immunisation rates had increased between 5 and 10 per cent since the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort was born in 2009 and 2010.

The ministry's chief advisor for child and youth health Dr Pat Tuohy said changes had been made since the research for the study had been done.

"In the intervening years, the ministry has worked closely with general practices, midwives, practice nurses and other health professionals to improve the amount and quality of information about immunisation available to new and expecting parents on immunisation."

That included producing a discussion guideto help midwives, practice nurses and GPs inform new and expectant parents about immunisation, he said.