Right from the source: Trust in health providers, information sources, and vaccine hesitancy

Abstract

With increases in vaccine hesitancy, public health officials seek to maintain high levels of confidence in vaccine safety and high vaccination rates. This secondary analysis of survey data from mothers of healthy newborns in Washington State examines the association between trust in health providers and vaccine information sources. We found that mothers with less trust in health providers used more sources, more informal sources, and were less likely to consider their child’s pediatrician their main source of vaccine information. However, they did not report more effort to read or watch stories about vaccines than more trusting mothers, and there was no difference by trust for reporting the internet as main vaccine information source. Many new mothers seek information about vaccines, but their level of trust in health providers may influence which sources they believe.