The Views of Parents Who Reject Compulsory Vaccination as a Case Study of the Crisis of Trust in Biomedical Knowledge
Abstract
Immunisation programs currently represent a firm and widely accepted part of preventive medicine. Czech Republic belongs among countries with mandatory immunization schedule strongly regulated by the state.
To let children vaccinate is considered as an unquestionable norm supported by formal sanction for those who would not take part in such practice. This paper focuses on parents who challenge such norm with their decision to refuse their child's immunization. 22 parents whose children were not vaccinated were interviewed and several participant observations were conducted at public lectures concerning immunization and at meetings of parents who actively take part in the debates against compulsory vaccination.
The paper analyzes the vaccine critical groups in the Czech Republic in the context of the crisis of trust in biomedical knowledge. It identifies key moments affecting parents' critical attitude towards vaccination and highlights the previous experience with health authorities and the feeling of lost of faith in trustworthiness of biomedicine as the key motives influencing their decision to refuse the vaccination.
The decision to undergo the vaccination is analyzed as a part of the process of "will to health" that take place in the context of everlasting negotiation between different notions of risks.