Childhood Vaccinations Are They Really Needed - Research Proposal Example

The present paper is devoted to the of childhood vaccinations in relation to the possible complications, with the searching of general conclusion, if these vaccinations are really needed. The work is the proposal for the research in terms of childhood vaccination, with the recommendations for the design of the work, possible methods of analysis and the validity of the results. Childhood Vaccinations - Are They Really Needed The purpose of the work is to find out, whether childhood vaccinations are needed, and whether the possible complications for the child's health can be justified by the probable danger of non-vaccination for the whole community. Literature Review Modern literature is full of controversial opinions in relation to possible usefulness or harmfulness of the childhood vaccination. Flanders (2000), states the two examples of child's deaths which are connected with vaccination and non-vaccination. According to her article, one of the girls died of Hepatitis B, which kills about 5,000 thousand people in the US each year and the other died after being vaccinated against polio. The main question, asked by Flanders (2000), is whether it should be obligatory to go through childhood vaccination, or should parents be able to refuse from immunization 'to avoid rare, but sometimes, serious, reactions' Allen (2002) speaks about Federal laws and Exemptions which touch the problem of vaccination. 'All sides of this debate have the same concerns at heart. They all want children to be healthy and protected. It's just the ways to achieve this goal that are contentious. The fact that vaccines prevent a huge number of illnesses, but have some side effects, makes for a difficult policy question, but not one that hasn't been solved in other areas.' (Allen 2002) At the same time, according to the Allen's article, 'the compensation program provides financial assistance to families to care for children injured by vaccines and helps those families who have lost a child to a severe side effect'. But it should be remembered, that the mentioned system is designed as 'non-fault', which means that it is no need in defining whether vaccine has been defective or the doctor didn't have enough medical skills to prevent side effects. In case no other specific medical reasons for child's death are found, it is supposed that the vaccine has caused it. But it should also be remembered, that ' if the injury or cause of death is not one of a list of known vaccine side effects, the families must provide proof that the ailment was caused by the vaccine'. (O'Meara, 2003) Using the MEDLINE database, it was possible to find the following data: 'There's been a huge decline, and disease rates in adults are now higher than in children," said Dr. Beth P. Bell, chief of epidemiology in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Division of Viral Hepatitis and senior author of a report that appears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. There were 25,000 to 35,000 cases of hepatitis A per year in this country before the era of vaccination. But in 2003, about 7,600 cases were reported, and the total for 2004 will probably be around 6,000.' (http:/nurseworldmag.com/articles-on-nursing/healthcare.htm) Research methodology The present research is based on comparing the existing literary sources and data in terms of positive and negative effects of childhood vaccination, for finding out the objective and profound conclusion. Theoretical framework The theoretical framework of the present research should be based on the analysis of the available data in relation to positive and negative effects of the vaccinations. At the same time, the main hypothesis of the work is that health care for both groups of children (those who have received their vaccinations according to the schedule and those who didn't) will not be different. The independent variable here is presented by the presence or absence of vaccination among children, while any differences in health medical care for them is the dependent variable in the present scientific research. Haemophilus influenza b (Hib) vaccine is a good example. Hib used to be the major cause of meningitis in young children, before vaccines that can be used for infants were finally developed. The number of Hib cases in Canada went down from about 2,000 cases per year in 1988 to only 26 cases in 1996'. (www.bni.org.uk) Sample The sample size for the present research should be enough to make the clear conclusions and statements in terms of childhood vaccination. In our case, the sample of 100 children will be enough to make the basic research and define whether childhood vaccinations are needed. Imagine that there are 100 children at school, and 95 of them have got their vaccination against measles. In case measles covers the school, there will for sure be 5 cases of measles among those who have not been vaccinated. At the same time, remembering that only 9 of 10 children, who have been vaccinated, are 100% safe from getting ill, some children will also get measles. But it does not mean that vaccination does not work. According to the official statistics, only 90% of vaccinated children get the stable immunity against the disease. But it should also be discussed that ultimately both groups of children will get the same courses of general medical care and treatment in case they get ill with some other diseases. In fact, presence or absence of vaccination does not play great role in defining the course of medical treatment for any child. This sample is the best representative of the general trends and evaluations in terms of vaccination among children, but should also be compared with their medical histories, which will lead to the conclusion of the similarity of medical care given to them on any occasion. Human subjects The present research is to be held among children between 4 and 10. At the same time, it should be stated that the research should be held according to the state legislation. It is the right of parents to refuse from any participation in the research. Research design The research is to be held in the form of comparison between the real consequences of vaccinations between children who got them, as well as the state of health between those who didn't get any vaccines. The research will include the separate description of positive effects, such as the decrease of infections among children, the description of the negative effects (if they exist) and the possible connections between these effects and the vaccination. Comparing and weighting the received results it should be possible to make the general conclusion. Instruments The main instrument for the present research should be the analysis of the data which can be found in the recent literature, as well as with the help of the Internet-based search engines. But it should be mentioned, that these researches still need closer consideration, as the data received is not verified yet. The most valid instrument for the present research will be in analyzing the data connected with medical histories of children, both vaccinated and non-vaccinated. In these histories there should be found similarities and differences in relation to general medical care. This instrument is going to be the most reliable as it provides the real information about health of children under observation, and gives the possibility to define whether the disparities in medical care depend on the fact of being vaccinated. Procedures The research is to be conducted in the following way: there should be made the literary review of the relevant and available data sources; there should be found and created the sample group of the children between 4-10 years old, half of which will be vaccinated and half of which will not; there should be made a profound analysis of the health state of all children with the thorough look at diseases which have appeared after vaccination; the possible connection between vaccination and the diseases found should be grounded or rejected; the comparison of the received data will become the basis for making the general conclusion of the work. External and internal validity Internal validity of the results is the extent to which a valid statement will be made in the context of possible and real consequences of the childhood vaccinations. In terms of internal validity the following questions should be answered: 1. Does the design of the research permits to make casual inferences 2. Can changes in the received results be caused by the external validity The external validity of the present research lies in the extent to which the acquired results may be related to the other people. Thus the main issue in providing the external validity is in choosing the right sample group and the valid research instruments. The possible threats to the internal validity can be the wrong information given by the subjects in the sample group, together with the purposeful concealing of the health information by parents of those children who take part in the experiment. Scientific rigor The sample group should be of the optimal size to provide the credibility of the results. This credibility will be based on the proofs for the possible connection between the health problems and the vaccination of the children. The received results of the research should be clear enough for being checked and audited. For the auditability of the present research the results are better to be presented in the form of tables or diagrams. The results acquired should also be characterized by fittingness, that is, they should clearly correspond the main aim of the research, and by confirmability, which means that any result described in the work should have a theoretical and practical proof. Analysis The analysis of the data received is going to be conducted through the comparison of medical histories of children under investigation. It will become even easier in case children of the two groups have gone through similar diseases. The main attention should be concentrated on the child infections, and the ways these infections have been cured. The analysis will be carried out from the viewpoint of the presence or absence of vaccination among children. Process for implementing findings The study in the area of childhood vaccinations is aimed at attracting closer attention to the problem of possible side effects, together with grounding or denying the possible connections of health problems with vaccinating, which will certainly lead to the improved care in the sphere of childhood vaccinations. The work also leads to the conclusion that medical care for children does not depend on the fact of them being or not being vaccinated. References (1) Allen, Arthur. (2002). Bucking the Herd: Parents who Refuse Vaccinations for their Children May Be Putting Entire Community at Risk. The Atlantic Monthly 290-2, 24-25 (2) Flanders, Gretchen. (2000). Vaccinations: Public health's Miracle Under Scrutiny. State Legislatures 26-3, 20 (3) Hill, Susan. (2001). Issues Concerning the Rights of Children. Childhood Education 77-5, 331 (4) Horner, Sharon. (1999). Creating Alternative Immunization Clinics to maintain and Improve Community Immunization Rates. Journal of Community Health Nursing 16-2, 1999 (5) O'Meara, Kelly Patricia. (2003). Vaccines May Fuel Autism Epidemic. Insight on the News, 24 (6) Pruitt, Rosanne. (1995). Perceived Barriers to Childhood Immunization among Rural Populations. Journal of Community Health Nursing 12-1, 65 (7) http://www.bni.org.uk/ (8) http://nurseworldmag.com/articles-on-nursing/healthcare.htm/ (9) http://www.cinahl.com/library/journals.htm (10) Newspaper article. (2005). The Link Between Autism and Childhood Vaccinations. The Nursing Science Quarterly, 12-3, 122. Read More