Premium
Mothers' informational needs when deciding to have their newborn infant vaccinated with BCG . A Mixed‐methods design
Author(s) -
Pihl Gitte Thybo,
Ammentorp Jette,
Johannessen Helle,
Kjærgaard Jesper,
Nissen Thomas Nørrelykke,
Birk Nina Marie,
Stensballe Lone Graff,
Thøstesen Lisbeth Marianne,
Kofoed PoulErik
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/scs.12557
Subject(s) - feeling , information needs , meaning (existential) , focus group , vaccination , health literacy , telephone survey , medicine , psychology , telephone interview , family medicine , medical education , nursing , social psychology , health care , computer science , psychotherapist , social science , marketing , sociology , world wide web , economics , immunology , business , economic growth
Objective To explore the informational needs of mothers with different levels of education in order to improve counselling about vaccination. Methods In the setting of a large vaccination trial, mothers' assessments and yield of written information in combination with telephone consultations were evaluated in a survey. Furthermore, searching strategies for additional information were investigated. Mothers' perspectives on informational needs were explored in focus group discussions. Results Out of 2025 mothers, 95% felt well‐informed. Of the 4% not feeling well‐informed, there were significantly more mothers with basic schooling and nontheoretical education. There was no correlation between searching for additional information and feeling well‐informed. The telephone consultation was found to be very supportive for the decision. Conclusion The written information was digestible over time. The telephone consultation ensured the mothers' understanding by tailoring and deriving meaning from the information to her special needs. Moreover, it helped the mothers gain an overview of risks and benefits and inspired confidence. These findings indicate that the telephone consultation improved health literacy. Practice implications Individual counselling about vaccines is required in addition to information about side effects and accurate instructions on how to react upon them.