ArticleSSM - population health2021
Stigmatized for standing up for my child: A qualitative study of non-vaccinating parents in Australia.
Article in SSM - population health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Childhood vaccine refusal and what to do about it: a systematic review of the ethical literature.BMC medical ethics · 2023Pooled it
- Beyond seeking information: Lessons learned from a qualitative investigation of the information practices of parents about COVID-19 vaccination in Canada.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2026Article
- Ethical analysis of childhood vaccination information processes among Turkish parents in the United States.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- COVID-19 vaccination refusal among the anti-vaccinationists in a Chinese society: a critical medical anthropology study of the vaccination barriers.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Parents' attitudes towards the No Jab No Play legislation in Western Australia: a mixed methods study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Public values to guide childhood vaccination mandates: A report on four Australian community juries.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Touching the cornerstone: An illustrative example of the effects of stigma and discrimination on vaccine-hesitant parents.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Recruiting a Hard-to-Reach, Hidden and Vulnerable Population: The Methodological and Practical Pitfalls of Researching Vaccine-Hesitant Parents.Qualitative health research · 2023Article
- Communication Interventions and Assessment of Drivers for Hendra Virus Vaccination Uptake.Vaccines · 2023Review
- 'Get your own house in order': Qualitative dialogue groups with nonvaccinating parents on how measles outbreaks in their community should be managed.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2022Article
- Social Stigma of Patients Suffering from COVID-19: Challenges for Health Care System.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVaccine refusal is highly polarizing in Australia, producing a challenging social landscape for non-vaccinating parents. We sought to understand the lived experience of non-vaccinating parents in contemporary Australia.
methodsWe recruited a national sample of non-vaccinating parents of children <18 yrs, advertising on national radio, in playgrounds in low vaccination areas, and using snowballing. Grounded Theory methodology guided data collection (via semi-structured interviews). Inductive analysis identified stigmatization as a central concept; stigma theory was adopted as an analytical lens.
resultsTwenty-one parents from regional and urban locations in five states were interviewed. Parent's described experiences point to systematic stigmatization which can be characterized using Link & Phelan's five-step process. Parents experienced (1) labelling and (2) stereotyping, with many not identifying with the "anti-vaxxers" portrayed in the media and describing frustration at being labelled as such, believing they were defending their child from harm. Participants described (3) social "othering", leading to relationship loss and social isolation, and (4) status loss and discrimination, feeling "brushed off" as incompetent parents and discriminated against by medical professionals and other parents. Finally, (5) legislative changes exerted power over their circumstances, rendering them unable to provide their children with the same financial and educational opportunities as vaccinated children, often increasing their steadfastness in refusing vaccination.
conclusionNon-vaccinating Australian parents feel stigmatized for defending their child from perceived risk of harm, reporting a range of social and psychological effects, as well as financial effects from policies which disadvantaged their children through differential financial treatment, and diminished early childhood educational opportunities. While it might be argued that social stigma and exclusionary policies directed a small minority for the greater good are justified, other more nuanced approaches based on better understandings of vaccine rejection could achieve comparable public health outcomes without the detrimental effect on unvaccinated families.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.