Cape Town – Researchers from Stellenbosch University's Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology hope to get in the minds of anti-vaxxers when collaborating with the US, UK and Australia.
Lead researcher Dr Marina Joubert said the study aimed to better understand the messages and claims of anti-vaccination lobby groups and their potential impact on vaccination programmes in South Africa.
“We are still in the planning phase of the research but we are hoping to collaborate with a number of countries to see how these groups formulate their arguments, what evidence they use and how they validate their arguments.”
She said they will be collaborating with countries that have similar anti-vaxxers.
“The science of communication shows that people don't always respond well to facts and if you give them facts they still won't change their minds. There are other stories and experiences that come into play.
"We want to understand where it comes from.”
Joubert said she suspected that many anti-vaxxers opted not to vaccinate after a UK study, which was later retracted, claimed a link between the measles vaccine and autism.
“The big thing is to plan it well as it has implications for policy change, like should children be refused access to school if they are unvaccinated, or is that going too far?"
Joubert said they will start their research next year and hope to have it completed in two years.
About 81.2% of children under one are fully immunised, according to the provincial Health Department.
Spokesperson Mark van der Heever said there was no indication that vaccines were harmful.
"Immunisations are safe and can save your child’s life. The department strongly advises parents and guardians to protect their children from infectious diseases by getting them vaccinated from birth to when they are 12.
"Yet some people still argue that vaccines do not work very well and that diseases disappear on their own because people have improved hygiene and sanitation.”
Van der Heever said it was recommended that children were vaccinated against polio, measles, haemophilus, influenza type B, tetanus, diphtheria and tuberculosis.