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Let’s imagine two scenarios. Say you’re working in the yard on a Saturday morning, and you step on a rusty nail poking out of the dirt. You go to the urgent care clinic, and your healthcare provider notes that you haven’t gotten a tetanus shot in over a decade. They offer you a booster. What do you say?
In all likelihood, most readers out there nodded their heads “yes.”
Now, imagine that it’s flu season, and you’re in the office for a yearly check-up. Your healthcare provider offers you a flu shot. Do you accept? This is where we begin to see differences in patient responses. Some of you may say “yes” and some of you may say “no.” Accepting the flu shot isn’t a given for everyone.
So, it’s a tale of two shots. But what causes patients to choose one vaccine and not the other?
Part of the reasoning includes weighing your pros and cons to make a medical decision that you feel most comfortable with. For example, you may be more afraid of getting tetanus than the flu, so you opt for the tetanus shot while accepting the risk of “nothing but a few days of body aches and fever” (even though “typical” influenza still kills 5,000-50,000 Americans each year). But another aspect is that vaccines have become a polarizing issue that keeps patients from discussing their healthcare decisions with their doctors – and that’s the real kicker.
Vaccines have become controversial. Why is that?
Nine times out of ten, vaccine hesitancy directly results from distrust in the healthcare institution as a whole. In fact, a recent study shows that public trust in healthcare has dropped dramatically, down 31% in only four years. With that steep dropoff, it’s important for healthcare professionals and patients alike to stop, listen to each other, and reflect on the reasons behind this decline.
The Current Medical Model Limits Your Sense of Control
What you do with your body should be your choice.
But the problem with the current model is that doctors typically only spend around twenty minutes with each patient, and that doesn’t leave much room for in-depth discussion about anything, much less your vaccine questions or concerns. As a result, it’s common for patients to feel pushed into making quick medical decisions that require total trust in their doctor’s medical advice without understanding the treatment themselves. This implicitly limits the control you feel you have over your healthcare decisions.
Unfortunately, because the current healthcare model requires your provider to spend so much time cutting through red tape and paperwork, they usually aren’t available to have thorough conversations with each patient, even if they would like to. But without the space to ask questions or voice concerns, you may feel you don’t have enough information to make an active choice about your healthcare.
The Practice of Medicine Is Dynamic
The doctors of the 1990s raved about the health benefits of red wine for the heart, leading everybody and their mother to relish a glass at dinner in the name of cardio. At the time, the best available research supported this idea. The facts at that time seemed to indicate it was true. However, recent studies have suggested that “no one should recommend drinking” because we now realize that the potential risks of drinking alcohol probably outweigh the potential benefits.
As a result, the recommendations changed. We followed the numbers then, and we follow the numbers now, so we no longer advise drinking red wine for a healthy heart.
The reality is that medical guidelines change as we learn, grow, and discover new ideas that further clarify or even prove better than our older understandings, and this may sometimes feel misleading to patients, especially when it comes to controversial subjects like vaccine use. When the process behind the research isn’t properly explained (and it is often complicated), it may leave more confusion than clarity.
Institutions Take A Bird’s Eye View of Medicine
Some patients argue that the recommendations from public health institutions like the CDC or WHO seem overly broad. How can they possibly account for your unique circumstances when making recommendations for everyone in the country?
This is a fair question. However, the answer comes down to the nuanced role these organizations play in the overall healthcare system. Their job is to assess public health from a bird’s eye view. They make determinations for total populations, and, as a result, their decisions reflect what is best for counties, states, and countries, not what is best for each and every individual.
The role they play is essential, but it is only a piece of the puzzle. It’s your primary care provider’s job to take the CDC and WHO’s general guidelines and determine where they fit into your unique health profile. This is the step that is most often missed when determining if you need a vaccine.
Medical Research Has Limitations
Mark Twain famously said there are three types of deception: “Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” It’s true. Statistics can be fickle. While numbers are concrete, they might look different depending on the context, and they can be photoshopped, cropped, and altered to support whatever argument the user is making when wielding them.
Not to mention, every study ever conducted is limited in scope for two simple reasons: 1) you can’t study everything at once and 2) humans are imperfect. No matter how many schools we attend, how thorough we are, or how well-funded the think tank is, we will never be able to eliminate all biases.
So, depending on the nature of the study or the context it appears in, vaccine research can be spun to either exaggerate or to downplay risks – and emerging research around new or fringe vaccines is most vulnerable to corruption.
The Answer to The Problem: Shared Decision-Making
When healthcare providers address patient concerns without brushing them off, the system allows for more open conversation around healthcare decisions. In other words, if you’re a part of the decision-making process, you trust it more.
Shared decision-making is a treatment style that invites you to participate in your own healthcare choices, helping you take an active role in your health in partnership with your provider. This system can clarify how vaccines could affect your unique health profile, the potential risks and benefits you should consider, and how you should move forward with consideration for your concerns.
Here’s how shared decision-making could help you feel more comfortable talking about vaccinations.
One-On-One Discussions
Every health decision should start with an open conversation with your healthcare provider. Don’t be afraid to challenge them; ask questions and expect answers! The more your provider understands your unique healthcare profile and hesitations, the better information they can provide you to ease or validate your concerns.
And if your healthcare provider doesn’t have enough time to listen to your concerns, find another one who does. It’s as simple as that.
Calculating Risk vs. Reward
When deciding whether a vaccine is needed, you’re playing a game of odds. When the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks, you get the vaccine. When the potential risks outweigh the potential benefits, you probably should think twice.
These decisions depend on a variety of factors like age, genes, body type, and more, which means everyone’s pros and cons list could look different. Talking through these lists with your healthcare provider can bring much-needed clarity to your healthcare decisions.
Choosing a Personalized Approach
There’s no one-size-fits-all scenario in medicine. Everyone’s body responds differently to different medications, and your unique health profile should inform the vaccination process. Sharing your health history with your provider can help them anticipate your potential risks and benefits to help you get the right preventive care with your whole health in consideration.
Take Control to Make an Informed Decision
After all is said and done, remember this: you and your provider can only make the best decision possible given the information and advice that is available to you at the present time. Choosing the treatment option that is right for you requires you to thoughtfully consider your provider’s advice alongside your own preferences. Understand the risks and benefits at hand and compare them with your provider’s input. Then, proceed with the scenario that you feel most comfortable with.
Because, at the end of the day, you’re in charge of your health.
We’re Here to Level With You
Sometimes you need a vaccine. Sometimes you may not. The answer lies completely in a shared decision with your healthcare provider.
At ZüpMed, we believe in finding the nuance in every healthcare scenario, because no patient is exactly the same as another. Our team works alongside you to help you make truly informed healthcare decisions that you feel comfortable with so you can trust the providers you work with every time.
That’s what intentionally different medical care can do for you.
If you have questions or concerns about a vaccine, feel free to reach out to your provider for a thorough discussion about the potential risks and benefits that could impact your health.
