917 - Why Some Moms Are Hesitant To Vaccinate

About this episode:

For mothers questioning whether or not to vaccinate their children, the decision can be complicated by an overwhelming and, at times, conflicting information environment. In this episode: Health communication researcher Melissa Carrion explores how an onslaught of messaging is informing how mothers decide to vaccinate their kids and how public health experts can better communicate on these key decisions.

Guest:

Melissa Carrion, PhD, is an assistant professor of Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she researches rhetoric and health communication.

Host:

Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Show links and related content:

• How one mom is navigating vaccines' uncertain future—ScienceNews

• New Research: Childhood Vaccination Rates Drop Across 1,600 U.S. Counties—The 74

• "I Don't Understand How These Two Things Go Together": Toward a Theory of Risk Ecologies—Health Communication

• "You need to do your research": Vaccines, contestable science, and maternal epistemology—Public Understanding of Science

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