CU researchers: One in five pediatricians dismiss families for refusing vaccines

AURORA | Families refusing to vaccinate their children stand a better chance of being dismissed by their pediatricians.

That finding comes from research done by University of Colorado School of Medicine faculty at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, which was published Monday, Nov. 2, in the journal Pediatrics.

About 21 percent of pediatricians surveyed say they dismissed families from their medical practice after vaccines were refused. Sean O’Leary, MD, MPH, an associate professor of pediatrics, led the team that surveyed more than 800 physicians across the United States.

“Pediatricians who dismiss families for vaccine refusal are more likely to practice in a private setting, to be from the South, and to be in states without philosophical exemption laws and/or without more difficult exemption policies,” O’Leary wrote in the article for Pediatrics.

The survey aimed to clarify which physicians were more likely to dismiss a family for vaccine refusal and the factors leading to such a decision. As a practice, dismissing patients for refusing vaccinations draws some debate among physicians.

“Even though the American Academy of Pediatrics discourages providers from dismissing families, some providers continue to do so,” O’Leary said in a release about the article. “Instead of dismissing families, we need a better understanding of the reasons for vaccine refusal to find evidence-based strategies for communication that are effective at convincing hesitant parents to vaccinate.”

Many states offer families an opt-out option based on philosophical reasons, and O’Leary’s study noted that physicians in those states were less likely to dismiss vaccine-refusing families.

“It may be that in states that allow philosophical exemptions, physicians perceive vaccine refusal as more societally acceptable because of the exemption law and therefore are less likely to dismiss families from their practice,” according to the article. “Alternatively, attitudes in these states may be driving policy, and therefore because vaccine refusal is more of a social norm, dismissing families is less acceptable for physicians.”

The Pediatrics article also noted that even a few instances of vaccine refusal can result in outbreaks of preventable diseases.

“States that have a philosophical exemption law and an easy exemption process have lower vaccination rates and higher rates of vaccine-preventable diseases,” they wrote.

Just in the past week, health officials in Kentucky reported three cases of whooping cough in unvaccinated infants. Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection. It initially resembles an ordinary cold but can turn more serious, especially in infants.

“It is vitally important for infants to get their immunizations against whooping cough on schedule,” said Dr. Sarah Moyer, interim director of the Louisville, Ky., Department of Public Health. “In infants, this disease can be very serious and even deadly.”

This research was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and administered through the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.