Study to Investigate Whether Altruism Affects Parental Decision on Vaccinating Children

A joint study conducted by researchers at Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine will be looking into the influence of altruism on parents' decisions to vaccinate their children.

"If enough people are immunized against a particular disease, it prevents outbreaks of that disease and protects the community. This is known as herd immunity, and it's a very important benefit of childhood immunization," said Regenstrief Institute affiliated scientist S. Maria Finnell, M.D., M.S., IU School of Medicine assistant professor of pediatrics. "But as we are seeing more vaccine-hesitant parents, we need to better understand the factors that influence parents' decisions to immunize their children so that pediatricians can effectively communicate to them the importance of the recommended shots."

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Tetanus

Tetanus (or Lockjaw) is a serious preventable infection that can affect the muscles and nerves and results from contamination of wound. The vaccine against Tetanus can prevent the infection.