WHICH COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES DO SLOVAK PEDIATRICIANS CHOOSE TO FACILITATE PARENTAL DECISION-MAKING ABOUT CHILDHOOD VACCINATION?

One of the most common factors underlying delaying or refusing childhood vaccination is concerned about vaccine safety. Parents often struggle with conflicting information about their adverse effects, vaccine-preventable diseases, and also with emotions such as fear or distress. Paediatricians are in a privileged position to facilitate parental decision-making related to vaccination, but can also tip hesitant parents towards vaccine refusal, especially if they do not communicate effectively. This qualitative study explores the decision-making processes of Slovak paediatricians in choosing communication strategies facilitating parental decisions about vaccination. We conducted literature search to identify recommendations about effective and ineffective communication strategies related to childhood vaccination, as well as in-depth interviews with 15 paediatricians. The results show that paediatricians typically lack formal training in communication with parents, but use a large number of effective communicative strategies that they have acquired during their clinical experience. However, often these decisions are not being made explicitly, and some paediatricians struggle with specific situations and types of parents. We conclude that implementing formal communication training in relation to childhood vaccination would make paediatricians’ daily work more efficient and less emotionally taxing.