Parents have questions about the health and care of their children. It’s normal!
They want to know (for instance) what to give a child who has a high fever, when a multivitamin is appropriate, and if vaccines are safe and necessary.
It’s that last bit that has many of us searching for the words that parents want to hear. When a parent asks if vaccines are safe and necessary, it’s not enough to simply say yes. Parents want more information, and here are a few resources that will help you provide answers.
CDC has a section on their website that addresses the question of how to talk to parents and others about vaccines. There are materials for talking to specific groups, such as college-age students, healthcare workers, or pregnant women. There are materials to share with parents who are choosing not to vaccinate or who have questions about immunization schedules. There’s a one-pager for providers that’s handy to have. Basically, this site has gobs of resources—more than we have room for here—and is worth a long look.
The Colorado Foundation for Medical Care and Every Child by Two have a CE for nurses that offers “practical knowledge and skills on vaccine safety and patient communication.” It’s provided in webinar format and wraps up on 29 November, 2012. Try to get it on your calendars before then.
The Vaccine Education Center at CHOP has an excellent menu of articles written in palatable form for non-scientists. Few explain the facts behind vaccines better than Dr. Paul Offit, the Center’s director. This site is one of our favorites.
Immunization Action Coalition keeps a list of resources for those who speak with parents about vaccines. It’s a good page to bookmark.
We found a nice slideset by a nurse from GSK that provides answers to parents’ questions. It may be something you would want to share with your staff.
At PKIDs, we have several videos of parents sharing their children’s stories. Sometimes it helps to connect parent-to-parent. In addition to PKIDs, there’s ShotByShot, National Meningitis Association, and Families Fighting Flu—all of whom have videos to share.
While poking around, we found many more helpful sites, but when they were boiled down to their essences, the resources provided could be found in one of the sites listed above.
If you know of a site that has materials useful to the vaccine conversation, we’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Image courtesy of Norman Rockwell Museum
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