IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v357y2024ics0277953624006361.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“I can't see the forest for the ticks, uhm, trees …”: The role of online forums in parents' vaccination trajectories

Author

Listed:
  • Paul, Katharina T.
  • Pichelstorfer, Anna
  • Hansl, Nora
  • Martin, Maximilian
  • Pucker, Paula-Marie
  • Zhikharevich, Dmitrii

Abstract

When it comes to health-related information-seeking behavior, online communities play a key role for some groups, such as parents. With a case study of online communities in a loosely organized vaccination system, that of Austria, we study how parents make use of a prominent online forum (parents.at) in their vaccination trajectories and situate this analysis in its socio-political context. Based on inductive qualitative analysis of relevant threads (n = 27), we find that parents use forums in three ways: First, the forum serves as a platform through which parents seek orientation in a loosely organized and fragmented vaccination system. Second, the forum offers space for sharing, collecting, and evaluating different forms of expertise. In doing so, parents carve out a space in which they can comfortably put lay expertise and credentialed expertise on a par, particularly in their advice to peers. Third, and on that basis, parents use the forum for deliberating on future or past vaccination-related decisions. In doing so, they frequently draw on idiosyncratic notions of individual risks and benefits. These three practices enable parents to accumulate and share what we label navigational capital. We conclude that parents resort to online spaces both out of a subjective need and, for some, as a result of a dysfunction of the national childhood vaccination program which offers little orientation for parents.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul, Katharina T. & Pichelstorfer, Anna & Hansl, Nora & Martin, Maximilian & Pucker, Paula-Marie & Zhikharevich, Dmitrii, 2024. "“I can't see the forest for the ticks, uhm, trees …”: The role of online forums in parents' vaccination trajectories," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:357:y:2024:i:c:s0277953624006361
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117183
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953624006361
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117183?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. DeDominicis, Kali & Buttenheim, Alison M. & Howa, Amanda C. & Delamater, Paul L. & Salmon, Daniel & Omer, Saad B. & Klein, Nicola P., 2020. "Shouting at each other into the void: A linguistic network analysis of vaccine hesitance and support in online discourse regarding California law SB277," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    2. Wiley, Kerrie E. & Leask, Julie & Attwell, Katie & Helps, Catherine & Degeling, Chris & Ward, Paul & Carter, Stacy M., 2020. "Parenting and the vaccine refusal process: A new explanation of the relationship between lifestyle and vaccination trajectories," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    3. Paul, Katharina T., 2016. "“Saving lives”: Adapting and adopting Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination in Austria," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 193-200.
    4. Reich, Jennifer A., 2016. "Of natural bodies and antibodies: Parents' vaccine refusal and the dichotomies of natural and artificial," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 103-110.
    5. Madeleine Akrich, 2010. "From Communities of Practice to Epistemic Communities: Health Mobilizations on the Internet," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 15(2), pages 116-132, May.
    6. Vanderslott, Samantha, 2019. "Exploring the meaning of pro-vaccine activism across two countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 59-66.
    7. Campbell, Patricia A., 2021. "Lay participation with medical expertise in online self-care practices: Social knowledge (co)production in the Running Mania injury forum," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    8. Maureen Ayikoru, & Cole, Jennifer & Dodds, Klaus & Atcero, Milburga & Bada, Joseph K. & Petrikova, Ivica & Worodria, William, 2023. "Addressing vaccine concerns through the spectrum of vaccine acceptance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    9. ten Kate, Josje & de Koster, Willem & van der Waal, Jeroen, 2022. "Becoming skeptical towards vaccines: How health views shape the trajectories following health-related events," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    10. Skea, Zoë C. & Entwistle, Vikki A. & Watt, Ian & Russell, Elizabeth, 2008. "'Avoiding harm to others' considerations in relation to parental measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination discussions - An analysis of an online chat forum," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(9), pages 1382-1390, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sundstrom, Beth & Smith, Ellie & Delay, Cara & Luque, John S. & Davila, Caroline & Feder, Bailey & Paddock, Vincenza & Poudrier, Jessie & Pierce, Jennifer Young & Brandt, Heather M., 2019. "A reproductive justice approach to understanding women's experiences with HPV and cervical cancer prevention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 289-297.
    2. Lara McKenzie & Samantha J. Carlson & Christopher C. Blyth & Katie Attwell, 2024. "Changing rules, recommendations, and risks: COVID-19 vaccination decisions and emotions during pregnancy," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Court, Jay & Carter, Stacy M. & Attwell, Katie & Leask, Julie & Wiley, Kerrie, 2021. "Labels matter: Use and non-use of ‘anti-vax’ framing in Australian media discourse 2008–2018," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    4. Katrina Brown & Nick Sevdalis, 2011. "Lay Vaccination Narratives on the Web," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 31(5), pages 707-709, September.
    5. Claire Edwards & Etaoine Howlett & Madeleine Akrich & Vololona Rabeharisoa, 2012. "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in France and Ireland: parents' groups' scientific and political framing of an unsettled condition," CSI Working Papers Series 024, Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation (CSI), Mines ParisTech.
    6. Kuchinskaya, Olga & Parker, Lisa S., 2018. "‘Recurrent losers unite’: Online forums, evidence-based activism, and pregnancy loss," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 74-80.
    7. Jordan Luttrell-Freeman & Timothy J. Bungum & Jennifer R. Pharr, 2021. "A Systematic Review of the Rationale for Vaccine Hesitancy among American Parents," Global Journal of Health Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(8), pages 1-77, August.
    8. Almudena Alameda Cuesta & à lvaro Pazos Garciandía & Cristina Oter Quintana & Marta Elena Losa Iglesias, 2021. "Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Illness Experiences," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 30(1), pages 32-41, January.
    9. Rojatz, Daniela & Forster, Rudolf, 2017. "Self-help organisations as patient representatives in health care and policy decision-making," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(10), pages 1047-1052.
    10. Alam, Faizan & Tao, Meng & Rastogi, Rashmi & Mendiratta, Aparna & Attri, Rekha, 2024. "Do social media influencers influence the vaccination drive? An application of source credibility theory and uses and gratification theory," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    11. Madeleine Akrich & Orla O'Donovan & Vololona Rabeharisoa, 2013. "The entanglement of scientific and political claims:towards a new form of patients’ activism," CSI Working Papers Series 035, Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation (CSI), Mines ParisTech.
    12. Raz, Aviad & Jongsma, Karin R. & Rimon-Zarfaty, Nitzan & Späth, Elisabeth & Bar-Nadav, Bosmat & Vaintropov, Ella & Schicktanz, Silke, 2018. "Representing autism: Challenges of collective representation in German and Israeli associations for and of autistic people," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 65-72.
    13. Verelst, Frederik & Willem, Lander & Kessels, Roselinde & Beutels, Philippe, 2018. "Individual decisions to vaccinate one's child or oneself: A discrete choice experiment rejecting free-riding motives," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 106-116.
    14. Lukasz Henszel & Elisabeth E. Kanitz & Andrea Grisold & Heidemarie Holzmann & Stephan W. Aberle & Daniela Schmid, 2020. "Vaccination Status and Attitude among Measles Cluster Cases in Austria, 2019," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-10, December.
    15. Vanderslott, Samantha & Enria, Luisa & Bowmer, Alex & Kamara, Abass & Lees, Shelley, 2022. "Attributing public ignorance in vaccination narratives," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    16. Ward, Jeremy K. & Gauna, Fatima & Deml, Michael J. & MacKendrick, Norah & Peretti-Watel, Patrick, 2023. "Diversity of attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and vaccines: A representative cross-sectional study in France," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    17. Smailhodzic, Edin & Boonstra, Albert & Langley, David J., 2021. "Social media enabled interactions in healthcare: Towards a taxonomy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    18. Athias, Laure & Macina, Moudo, 2022. "Demand for vaccination in Sub-Saharan Africa: The vertical legacy of the slave trade," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    19. Friedman, Asia & Anderson, Tammy L., 2024. "Types of genetic determinism in direct-to-consumer genetic testing for health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 361(C).
    20. Madeleine Akrich & Maire Leane & Celia Roberts & João Arriscado Nunes, 2012. "Practising childbirth activism: a politics of evidence," CSI Working Papers Series 023, Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation (CSI), Mines ParisTech.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:357:y:2024:i:c:s0277953624006361. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.