Nov 4
Vol. 8 Issue 1
LITERATURE REVIEW
"You don't trust a government vaccine" by Mary Younan, class of 2022 Influenza vaccinations have continually posed a societal debate between physicians or pharmaceutical companies and the general public. Considering the fact that “only 37% of adults were vaccinated” in 2017-2018, it is evident that the vast majority of individuals opt out of taking the annual influenza vaccine (Jamison et al., 2018, p. 87). This article primarily probes the reason for the low turnout of vaccine takers by analyzing “three factors: complacency, convenience, and confidence” (Jamison et al., 2018, p. 87). Furthermore, the study dived into a more detailed analysis on the racial divide which exists between African Americans and Whites in regard to their level of trust towards healthcare industries and government agencies. Jamison et al. suggest that it is necessary for government agencies, such as the FDA and CDC, to gain the trust of minority groups through more “transparent” relaying of information to the public.
Measuring the public’s views on the influenza vaccine as well as the reasons why individuals do or do not take the vaccine required the authors to deploy various methods including the grounded theory, memos, and an extensive number of interviews. The grounded theory which they utilized is “successive stages of data collection interspersed with analysis” and memos are simply a place for taking note of any patterns, breakthroughs, or themes (Jamison et al., 2018, p. 88-89). The process of data collection was done in three phases: “exploratory interviews, focus groups, and in-depth interviews” (Jamison et al., 2018, p. 88). Additionally, prior to the interview processes, the authors conducted a pre-screening in order to ensure that their participants were sufficiently diverse in “race and vaccine behavior… age, sex, and educational background” (Jamison et al., 2018, p. 88). The study population consisted of White or African American adults who are native to the US. The time period during which this study was completed, 2012-2014, is important to take note of, as it was during Obama’s presidency thus having a profound influence on the opinions of the participants.
After analyzing different race and age groups and moderating discussions which pertained to the key word “trust”, a racial and generational divide seemed to develop in regards to trust in the government and healthcare industries. African Americans, who have a history of unseemly treatment and discrimination, fostered greater distrust towards the government in general. However, age also played an important role in the level of trust which the individuals had, as younger African Americans are said to have “‘loosened that mistrust’” (Jamison et al., 2018, p. 91). The optimism of the younger generation of African Americans is likely attributed to the fact that Obama was the President during the time of the interviews. Thus, had the interviews been conducted during current times, the responses would more likely than not looked very different. On the other hand, older Whites, who blame it on the way they were raised, have engrained within them obedience which is rooted in their discipline and respect towards the government. Contrary to this older generation of Whites, the younger White generation appears to exhibit a “‘more individualistic’” approach (Jamison et al., 2018, p. 91). Hence, it can be concluded that race is not the sole facet of the public’s view towards the influenza vaccine.
Jamison et al. highlight just a few of the various factors which contribute to perceptions about the influenza vaccination which include cultural conditioning, educational background, racial discrimination, and generational divides. Through analyzing the different age and racial groups it became clear that low turnout for vaccinations cannot simply be attributed to anti-vaccine groups or social media, rather it is rooted in the history and background of each individual. According to Jamison et al., in order to facilitate a greater percentage of vaccine
takers,
government
agencies
and
healthcare
industries
are
the
primary
entities
which
are
responsible
for
establishing
a
trustworthy relationship with the public. This is the only means by which the perception towards vaccines can take a positive turn in generations to come.
