Medical Student Preparedness to Counsel Parents on Childhood Vaccines and Address Vaccine Hesitancy: A Cross-Sectional Survey
Christina Hermann, Justen AprileObjective
Vaccine hesitancy is a significant public health concern. This study evaluated medical students’ confidence in counseling parents on childhood vaccines before and after completing the pediatrics clerkship.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey of 59 Penn State College of Medicine students compared pre- and post-clerkship confidence in vaccine communication. Quantitative data were descriptively analyzed; qualitative responses explored hesitancy contributors and training suggestions. The reporting of his study followed the STROBE (Strengthening The Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) guideline for cross-sectional studies.
Results
Post-clerkship students reported higher confidence in discussing vaccines (79% vs. 33%), explaining schedules (62% vs. 20%), addressing risks/benefits (7% 2vs. 43%), and countering misinformation (59% vs. 37%) compared with pre-clerkship students. Several of these differences reached statistical significance. Comfort discussing vaccine safety remained low (∼44%). Students identified misinformation, politics, and social media as key hesitancy drivers and recommended standardized patient practice and formal teaching to improve preparedness.
Conclusion
Pediatrics clerkship clinical exposure boosts medical student confidence in vaccine counseling. Targeted skills training is needed to address safety discussions and parental persuasion challenges.