Diana M Bernard, Spring C Cooper Robbins, Kirsten J McCaffery, Caroline M Scott and S Rachel Skinner
ABSTRACT:
Objectives: To examine the experience of fear, the fear response, and factors affecting fear in adolescents undergoing school-based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Design, participants and setting: A purposive sampling strategy and qualitative methods, including observation and face-to-face interviews. Focus groups comprised adolescent girls who were involved in HPV vaccination in 2007 at schools in Sydney, New South Wales. Individual interviews were conducted with parents, teachers and vaccination nurses.
Results: Data from observing vaccination days at three schools and from interviewing 130 adolescents in 20 focus groups, 38 parents, 10 teachers and seven nurses were included in the analysis. All participants discussed the issue of fear and distress experienced by adolescent girls in relation to HPV vaccination. Observations corroborated the focus group and interview data. Our results indicated that fear was promoted by witnessing the fear reactions of peers; perceived judgement by peers; lack of information or misinformation; and being vaccinated later in the day. Fear was
moderated by procedural factors, the support of peers, appropriate knowledge, and nurses’ distraction techniques or approach. Fear also affected acceptance of HPV vaccination.
Conclusions: Fear of HPV vaccination was a near universal experience among adolescents in the school setting and was often associated with significant distress that had an adverse impact on the vaccination process. School vaccination could be improved by proactively managing fear and distress.
[Note from SaneVax: We find this ‘study’ nothing more than an attempt to distract the public and medical professionals from the real issues surrounding HPV vaccines. If fear of needles were truly a major barrier to the vaccination process, this ‘study’ would have been conducted a long time ago. It is interesting to note the study was sponsored by one of the primary organizations involved in the creation of the HPV vaccination program:
“We acknowledge CSL Ltd, Australia for partial funding of this research, in the form of an unrestricted research grant.”
The SaneVax Team would respectfully submit that medical consumers are not as ill-informed and uneducated as the proponents of HPV vaccination campaigns would like them to be. We believe that medical consumers see these programs for what they are and are not willing to risk their future health on unproven vaccines any longer.
Medical consumers around the world are beginning to demand Safe, Affordable, Necessary and Effective vaccines.
It is not too much to ask for–the only difference now, is consumers are becoming educated and demanding proof–not just empty promises. Vaccine proponents need to understand they will soon be held to the same standards as those who have to resort to Vaccine Injury Court.]
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