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‘That’s just what’s expected of you … so you do it’: Mothers discussions around choice and the MMR vaccination.
Johnson, Sally E. Capdevila, Rose
Johnson, Sally E.
Capdevila, Rose
Publication Date
2014
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© 2014 Taylor & Francis. This is an Author's Original Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Psychology & Health on Aug. 2014 available online at http://www.tandfonline.com http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2014.892940
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openAccess
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Abstract
One of the major shifts in the form and experience of contemporary family life
has been the increasing insertion of the ‘expert’ voice into the relationship
between parents and children. This paper focuses on an exploration of mothers’
engagement with advice around the combined measles, mumps and rubella
(MMR) vaccine. Much of the previous literature utilises a ‘decision-making’
framework, based on ‘risk assessment’ whereby mothers’ decisions are conceptualised
as rooted in complex belief systems, and supposes that that by gaining
an understanding of these systems, beliefs and behaviour can be modified and
uptake improved. However, less attention has been paid to the ways in which
mothers negotiate such advice or the ways in which advice is mediated by positionings,
practices and relationships. Analysis of data from a focus group with
five mothers identified three themes: (i) Sourcing advice and information, (ii)
Constructing ‘Mother knows best’ and (iii) Negotiating agency. Despite the
trustworthiness of advice and information being questioned, an awareness of
concerns about the MMR, and health professionals being constructed as
remote, ultimate conformity to, and compliance with, the ‘system’ and
‘society’ were described as determining MMR ‘decisions’.
Version
Accepted manuscript
Citation
Johnson, S. and Capdevila, R. (2014) ‘That’s just what’s expected of you … so
you do it’: Mothers discussions around choice and the MMR vaccination. Psychology & Health, 29 (8);
861-876.
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Notes
Full text was made available at the end of the publisher's embargo period: 1st Aug. 2015