Public deliberation study looks at heated issue of childhood immunization

GUELPH — A University of Guelph study is looking at how public deliberation can be helpful with controversial and divisive issues, starting with mandatory childhood immunization.

“Let’s actually get in a room together and have a respectful, meaningful conversation,” said lead researcher Kieran O’Doherty, a psychology professor.

And that’s exactly what the researchers plan on doing — getting together a group of people with a range of perspectives on childhood vaccinations to talk and try and gain some common ground after hearing from experts on the subject.

In Ontario, children must be immunized against certain diseases to attend school, unless they have a valid exemption; students can be suspended from classes if their vaccination records are not up-to-date.

Childhood vaccination is a “polarized” issue with deeply held and starkly different positions. Public health efforts have not been entirely successful at convincing people who are hesitant about immunizations, O’Doherty said.

But that disconnect between the people making the decisions and those affected by the decisions can leave people feeling ignored.

“If we don’t listen to them and respect them, then they’re not going to be interested in what we say,” O’Doherty said.

Vaccinations are an especially important topic to have an open dialogue about because there are periodic outbreaks of preventable diseases as immunization rates slip, putting children at risk.

“Most people value health but also most of us value our individual freedom to choose,” O’Doherty said. “When it comes to vaccines, those two values can be in conflict.”

In the study, randomly selected Ontario residents will get together over two weekends with the goal of coming up with an informed recommendation. Basic information will be provided on the issue first, followed by experts who will speak to the group.

Then they’ll be asked to talk about the issue and how to move forward as a society. Facilitators will guide the conversation and try to get the participants to agree, “but it’s not a requirement to reach consensus,” O’Doherty said.

Along with talking specifically about vaccinations, the study will also look at the impact of public consultations in general, recognizing that vaccinations are just one issue of many. The study received a $100,000 grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research but if more funding is secured the researchers hope to expand the project to host focus groups asking people what they think about citizen input on policies.

“Does it make them trust the policy more,” O’Doherty asked.