Religious Objections to Vaccinations and Healthcare Professionals Vaccinations have demonstrated to be effective in preventing devastating diseases such as polio, smallpox, diphtheria, and pertussis worldwide. All civilized nations embrace immunizations as a way to prevent these and other diseases. Despite their efficacy and practices, many parents still choose to not vaccinate their children and risk catastrophic outcomes. Various reasons play a role in such decision-making, such as mistrust and religious views. In their study, Ruijs et al. (2012) explored how healthcare professionals (HCP) responded to the parents who chose not to immunize their children due to their religious beliefs.
Literature Review
In the Netherlands a majority of the …show more content…
Nurses are at the forefront of providing needed care and must be aware of cultural traditions and religious beliefs to be able to serve patients in the holistic manner. They must be aware of their own religious views and prejudices and place them aside while delivering care. Relationships grounded in trust yield the best outcomes. Thus, nurses must show respect and empathy towards their patients, possess good listening and communication skills, and at the same time have an experience working with a diverse population.
These skills are especially essential when working with family’s refusing to vaccinate their children for religious reasons. Such choices, not only affect that child and family, but the society as a whole. Nurses who feel comfortable in discussing family decision-making practices and are willing to listen to apprehensions without judging might be able to develop good rapport, while mastering a deeper understanding of patients’ faith and its effect on their life. Such relationship may lead to the development of effective ways to educate the family regarding vaccinations and the patient’s ability to see the significance of the
Literature Review
In the Netherlands a majority of the …show more content…
Nurses are at the forefront of providing needed care and must be aware of cultural traditions and religious beliefs to be able to serve patients in the holistic manner. They must be aware of their own religious views and prejudices and place them aside while delivering care. Relationships grounded in trust yield the best outcomes. Thus, nurses must show respect and empathy towards their patients, possess good listening and communication skills, and at the same time have an experience working with a diverse population.
These skills are especially essential when working with family’s refusing to vaccinate their children for religious reasons. Such choices, not only affect that child and family, but the society as a whole. Nurses who feel comfortable in discussing family decision-making practices and are willing to listen to apprehensions without judging might be able to develop good rapport, while mastering a deeper understanding of patients’ faith and its effect on their life. Such relationship may lead to the development of effective ways to educate the family regarding vaccinations and the patient’s ability to see the significance of the