A Study on College Students' Perceptions of Vaccines at Michigan State University
Michigan State University Student
Purpose: Because college students are beginning to make vaccination decisions for themselves and may soon be making them for their children, the purpose of our study was to identify which misconceptions were most commonly held and to try to facilitate critical thinking about the legitimacy of their beliefs.
Experimental Design:
A survey surrounding the six most common misconceptions about vaccines as identified by the CDC was created and distributed via email and social networking to undergraduate students at Michigan State University. Interviews were also conducted with students, professors, and other professionals for anecdotal information surrounding vaccine perceptions and vaccine research. Several commercial spoofs outlining the vaccine misconceptions were also created and publicly posted to help provoke critical thinking about vaccine media (See The Videos Tab on this website!).
Results: Some Interesting Findings
A sample size n=795 was obtained and ANOVA, Tukey HSD and Correlation were performed on the raw data.
Experimental Design:
A survey surrounding the six most common misconceptions about vaccines as identified by the CDC was created and distributed via email and social networking to undergraduate students at Michigan State University. Interviews were also conducted with students, professors, and other professionals for anecdotal information surrounding vaccine perceptions and vaccine research. Several commercial spoofs outlining the vaccine misconceptions were also created and publicly posted to help provoke critical thinking about vaccine media (See The Videos Tab on this website!).
Results: Some Interesting Findings
A sample size n=795 was obtained and ANOVA, Tukey HSD and Correlation were performed on the raw data.
- The same misconceptions for both Science and Non-Science majors are moderately correlated (r= 0.4-0.5)
- A relationship exits, as shown by the correlation, between Autism and other misconceptions related to the possible effects vaccines have on immunity, brain development and SIDS.
- The Tukey HSD showed that there is significance between these misconceptions (p<.01) for students regardless of major.
- The majority of students who participated in the survey did not get the flu vaccine this year or do not plan to get one.
- 95% of the study population trusted their doctor as a source of information about vaccination
- 27% of the population stated that they trusted other sources such as the news media and internet.
Possible Implications
Autism and Gardisil: Two of the most prevalent topics in the media regarding vaccines are
1) The supposed link to a rigorous vaccine schedule and developing autism and
2) Mental retardation can be caused by the HPV vaccine.
These kinds of media exposure on popular television shows such as Larry King Live and The Doctors as well as those surrounding the current presidential election could possibly be contributing to students’ misconceptions about vaccines.
Sources of Information:
Given that so many of the misconceptions are significant (p<.0001), it is unlikely that the responders trusted solely the advice of their doctors. This lends to a possible source of error inherent in attention bias. Responders believe that they are well informed and probably also believe that they should be getting their vaccine information from their doctors, when in fact other information has clearly made its way into many of the responders’ decision making processes.
The Big Picture
Students, regardless of scientific background and knowledge, maintain the same misconceptions regarding vaccines. One of the goals of this project was to get people to think critically about where they get their information and its influence on their decision making. Hopefully through the dissemination of the information obtained from this study, not just students, but every person will take the time to consider what is best for themselves and their community in terms of health and wellness.
Future Directions
More robust statistical analysis on the data is being conducted. Once completed, the results will be added to this website and will be presented at a Research Symposium.
Autism and Gardisil: Two of the most prevalent topics in the media regarding vaccines are
1) The supposed link to a rigorous vaccine schedule and developing autism and
2) Mental retardation can be caused by the HPV vaccine.
These kinds of media exposure on popular television shows such as Larry King Live and The Doctors as well as those surrounding the current presidential election could possibly be contributing to students’ misconceptions about vaccines.
Sources of Information:
Given that so many of the misconceptions are significant (p<.0001), it is unlikely that the responders trusted solely the advice of their doctors. This lends to a possible source of error inherent in attention bias. Responders believe that they are well informed and probably also believe that they should be getting their vaccine information from their doctors, when in fact other information has clearly made its way into many of the responders’ decision making processes.
The Big Picture
Students, regardless of scientific background and knowledge, maintain the same misconceptions regarding vaccines. One of the goals of this project was to get people to think critically about where they get their information and its influence on their decision making. Hopefully through the dissemination of the information obtained from this study, not just students, but every person will take the time to consider what is best for themselves and their community in terms of health and wellness.
Future Directions
More robust statistical analysis on the data is being conducted. Once completed, the results will be added to this website and will be presented at a Research Symposium.