Answers:
Incident- Reflection on an incident related to vaccination that occurred in a community health centre (Well Baby Clinic).
Description- I was monitoring a girl, aged 1 year, for her monthly health checkup. I had to assess her for growth, development, feeding habits and immunity. While questioning her parents, I was quite surprised to note that they had not taken any efforts for vaccinating their daughter.
Feelings- I was shocked and extremely surprised on learning of the parent’s noncompliance to their daughter’s immunization. I failed to understand the reason behind their emphatic behavior and was extremely upset with their decision as inadequate immunization could create adverse health outcomes.
Evaluation- The bad aspect of the experience was associated with the fact poor decision making skills demonstrated by the parents increased the likelihood of the infant for getting predisposed to infectious diseases (Walter and Ross 2014). One good aspect was that the incident helped in identification of the factors that contribute to such decisions (Favin et al. 2012).
Analysis- I understood that anti-vaccination movements around the world and increased concern of health service users regarding safety of the drugs that are administered upon them makes several parents consider vaccines as unsafe and ineffective (Elam-Evans et al. 2014).
Conclusion:
I could have engaged in an effective conversation with the parents to help them understand the health benefits of immunization. I could have educated the parents on the same by citing evidences from past medical histories and side effects in patients who were not vaccinated.
Action Plan- I intend to improve on my communication skills within 3 months, by enrolling at a certificate course for effective communication. That would help me better interact with parents of the children who are monitored at the clinic. I will also design pamphlets and distribute them to all visitors at the clinic, with the aim of improving the knowledge of the parents on the potential benefits of immunization.
References
Elam-Evans, L.D., Yankey, D., Singleton, J.A., Kolasa, M. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014.
National, state, and selected local area vaccination coverage among children aged 19–35 months—United States, 2013. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 63(34), pp.741-748.
Favin, M., Steinglass, R., Fields, R., Banerjee, K. and Sawhney, M., 2012. Why children are not vaccinated: a review of the grey literature. International health, 4(4), pp.229-238.
Walter, J.K. and Ross, L.F., 2014. Relational autonomy: moving beyond the limits of isolated individualism. Pediatrics, 133(Supplement 1), pp.S16-S23.