Researchers examined how physicians handle families that decline to vaccinate their infants in a recent study published in the December issue of the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal Pediatrics.
The ongoing debate surrounding physicians' right to refuse treatment for children whose parents are against vaccination has received national attention since the Disneyland measles outbreak earlier this year.
The study was based on a 2012 national survey of physicians that examined in detail the practice of dismissing families. The survey was the first of its kind to be conducted since the AAP published guidelines discouraging such actions in 2005.
Highlighted below are three major findings from the study.
1. Overall, nearly all surveyed physicians had encountered parents who refuse at least one vaccine in the recommended infant series, and roughly one in five pediatricians (20 percent) said they "often" or "always" dismiss those families.
2. Private practice physicians and those located in the South or in states without philosophical exemption laws were the most likely to dismiss families that refuse to vaccinate their infant.
3. The practice of dismissing families may be related to social norms surrounding vaccination, but it may also impact vaccination rates as states with stricter vaccine exemption policies tend to have higher vaccination rates.
The authors of the study concluded "the significant number of doctors who dismiss vaccine-refusing patients underscores the need for further research to understand its causes and consequences."
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