2007 Peterson, Neil E

							                                      Peterson, Neil
        Developing an Instrument to Measure Vaccine Hesitancy
                            Faculty Mentor: Beth Luthy, College of Nursing

The purpose of this project was to develop an instrument to accurately measure vaccine
hesitancy in parents of school-aged children. Utah consistently ranks below the national
immunization rate average in numerous vaccine categories1. Immunization exemptions in Utah
more than doubled between 1997 and 20042. To address vaccine hesitancy, an instrument must
be developed to gauge why parents are reluctant to maintain the immunization schedule. The
development of this instrument will then be used to understand vaccine hesitancy and steps can
be taken to address this growing problem.

Creating the instrument required a combination of searching for similar items used elsewhere in
America as well as integrating material that was relevant and important for Utah County, as this
is where the future research would take place. Perhaps the greatest barrier to creating the
instrument was that little development has been done in this area. I found very few resources that
addressed the issue of vaccine hesitancy as well as providing the instrument used to measure it.
As a result, the majority of my time was spent in collaborating with the Utah County Health
Department (UCHD) and the Utah County Immunization Coalition (UCIC) to develop an
instrument that met the needs of the county and would be non-offensive in nature.

After creating a preliminary instrument, I presented it to experts in the field in immunizations as
well as UCHD and UCIC. Numerous questions in the instrument were reworded, and some were
left out all together. It was felt that the wording needed to be meticulously evaluated for bias and
to not be offensive. Also, the goal was to have the entire questionnaire on one side of one paper.
This would enhance responses and be less intimidating to fill out.

Unfortunately, not every advice could be implemented, but the final result was acceptable to the
experts in the field of immunizations and the finished product can be seen on the next page. The
instrument was distributed in the Spring of 2007 and was well responded to. Currently, the
results of the survey is being analyzed and being prepared for submission for publication.
Additionally, a new website, in conjunction with UCIC and supported by UCHD, has been
launched to address further issues about vaccine hesitancy and the results gathered from the use
of the instrument. The website is: http://www.immun-wize.org and is preparing for increased
advertisement in the Utah County area.

In conclusion, creating an instrument to measure vaccine hesitancy is difficult not only because
this area of interest has had little attention, but a consensus is hard to reach regarding the content
of the instrument. More research needs to be done in this area, although it is off to a good start.


1
  Luman, E. T., Barker, L. E., McCauley, M. M., & Drews-Botsch, C. (2005). Timeliness of childhood
immunizations: A state-specific analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 95(8), 1367-74.
2
  Green, C. E. & Lee, P. W. (2006). Immunization Exemption: Taking it Personal. Retrieved January 26, 2006, from
http://cdc.confex.com/cdc/nic2006/techprogram/P10238.htm
The following is the final version of the vaccine hesitancy instrument: