Dear Fatima, Thank you for your comments
[Fatima says:] "In the case of the polio vaccine, the main false belief is that it can make male children infertile, and that’s why there are certain provinces where parents refuse to vaccinate their sons. While in the case of the HPV vaccine, many parents think that it will make their daughters infertile. I don’t believe these beliefs are fixed, as we can change them... To change people’s beliefs, we can use the successful stories... as millions of lives were saved due to the polio vaccine, and the same can happen with the HPV vaccine."
I think one of the challenges is that vaccination does not confer an immediate, visible health benefit.
I also note 'Evidence suggests that humans are not good at understanding statistical probabilities. Indeed, when women were presented with facts that the probability of their child getting a vaccine-preventable disease was much greater than the risks of a vaccine-related event, this had no significant effect on demand for vaccination23. Rather, women weighed the perceived severity of disease and the perceived risk of adverse events from a vaccine in deciding whether to vaccinate their child23. This suggests that messages employing narrative techniques highlighting disease severity are more effective than statistical facts.'
A quick google search shows that there are several guides for vaccination messaging but some of the concepts are not easy to grasp. Some of these guides require a complex, nuanced approach.
Which messages have been found to be most effective in Pakistan?
[Fatima says:] "I have my childhood school experience... like what polio is and what can happen if you do not get the vaccine."
Yes, school education must play an important role. Are there examples where children are exposed to false beliefs that, for example, polio vaccine can make male children infertile?
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org