Child Health Immunization Report: HNN300, Beth and Ashley Case Study

This report analyzes a case study involving Beth, a 12-month-old infant, and her mother Ashley, who is hesitant about the seasonal influenza vaccine. The report explores the impacts of vaccination, particularly the importance of flu shots for infants, and addresses Ashley's concerns based on her past experience. It discusses the consequences of not vaccinating infants, including increased susceptibility to flu and potential health complications. Furthermore, the report highlights effective nursing strategies, specifically family-centered communication techniques, to address parental concerns and promote informed decision-making. These strategies include exchanging information through counseling sessions to clarify misconceptions and making decisions collaboratively, empowering families to actively participate in their child's healthcare. The report emphasizes the critical role of nurses in educating parents about the benefits of immunization and mitigating risks, ultimately aiming to ensure the well-being of infants.

Running head: IMMUNIZATION
IMMUNIZATION
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Introduction:
Vaccination is termed to as the administration of vaccine which provides protection
against a disease. Vaccination or immunization in case if baby is must as their immunity system
is not developed enough which will help them to fight from a disease (Hodgson et al., 2017). It is
important for the babies to get all immunization to avoid occurrence of disease in future. This
assignment revolves around the an infant Beth and his mother Ashely. Nurse identified that Beth
is also eligible for the seasonal flu immunizations. However, Ashley refused to get influenza
vaccination due to her past experience. This discussion focusses on the importance of flu
vaccination in case of infants and adverse consequences if not performed. The discussion also
includes the nursing strategies which can be used to promote the efficient family-centered
engagement and communication for those parents who are worried about immunization.
Impacts of vaccination:
According to Kaczmarek et al. (2016), around 4 out of every 10 infants in Australia aged
23 months and above are suffering from flu. The primary cause behind such prevalence rate is
the avoidance of immunization in infants. Immunity system in the case of infants is low and as a
result they are more vulnerable to flu and any infection. Hence, in the case of infants,
immunization is necessary as it provides protection against flu to the infants. Though flu
immunizations in the case if infants is not 100% effective but it greatly reduces the chance of
getting infected with flu which might be serious for the children. As per the research conducted
by Taddio et al., (2017), vaccination in infants should be regularly updated as the flu viruses
changes constantly and by updating the vaccination, the infants get vaccinated from the most
current strains.

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As observed in the case study, Ashley does not want to have flu shots for Beth due to her
previous experience. During pregnancy when she had flu shots, she got infected with flu and she
does not want same to happen with Beth. As Ashley thinks that by getting flu shots her child
might get infected with flu. Hence the nurse should educate her that it is myth. In the flu shots,
the virus which are responsible for the causing flu are killed, so it is not possible to get flu from
the flu shots. However the vaccination takes around 2 to 3 weeks to build immunity against the
virus. During that period some people might get infected with flu from being exposed to other
infected person and they assume that the flu is due to the flu shots (Fisher, 2016).
Hence, the nurse should also recognize Ashley that the flu shots are safe and is vital for
children. Nurse should also educate Ashely about the common side effects of seasonal flu
vaccine. According to Nyhan and Reifler (2015), seasonal flu vaccination are safe and does not
cause flu but give rise to certain mild side effect such as, it causes mild to moderate soreness at
the site where the needle has been injected into the patient. Flu vaccination in children also
sometimes associated with mild aching or fever for 1 to 2 days.
By critically reviewing the case study of Beth and Ashley, it is evident that the when
nurse informed Ashley about the flu shots and stated that Beth is now eligible for the flu shots,
Ashley refuses to get flu shots for his baby. Hence in such case, the nurse should educate her
about the consequences of not receiving vaccination. Nurse should educate about the symptoms
of flu which can be avoided if vaccination is performed. According to Christian et al. (2017), the
babies who are not vaccinated have higher chance of getting infected with flu. As flu is an
infectious disease, therefore the infants, who are not vaccinated are easily infected from the flu
virus from other family members. It possesses negative impact on the infant's health. The signs
and symptoms which are observed in the case of infants include, cough, high fever, runny nose,

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sore throat, vomiting, muscle ache, fast breathing, feeling uncomfortable, grey skin color, fever
with rash, being fussy and can even lead to death (Bortz & Englund, 2019).
Influenza flu and other seasonal flu have no accurate cure or treatment, and the only way
to get rid of the infection is by getting the child immunized against the flu virus (Perez, 2016).
In case of infants, due to low immunity system normal flu also caused adverse negative impact
on the children. Hence it is important to get the infants vaccinated. If parents refuse to get their
child vaccinated at the appropriate time, they are increasing the risk of flu among the children.
Nursing strategies:
Family-centered communication in the health care setting is commonly used by the nurse
to aware the members about the well-being of the patient, importance of the treatment and
consequences if the treatment is avoided. By the aid of the family centered communication, the
health outcomes of the patients is enhanced (Khan et al., 2018).
In the family centered communication, the nurse communicates with the help of 6
different principal which includes, fostering relationships, responding to emotions, exchanging
information, managing uncertainty, enabling patient self-management and making decisions.
For the effective family centered communication, nurse have to engage in a therapeutic and
professional relationship with the members of the family (Schertz & Horn, 2018). As in this case,
Ashley is concerned about immunization and does not want her child to get vaccinated, which
can hamper the physical health of the infants. Hence by the aid of family centered
communication, the nurse should create awareness among the family members about the
importance of vaccination in infants and also should inform about the risk if vaccination is
avoided (Arnold & Boggs, 2019)

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The two strategies which can be used to promote the effective family centered communication
among those who are concerned about immunization are:
Exchanging information:
In this method the nurse should conduct various counseling session with the patient,
where the family members are informed about the risk of flu on infants, their immunity system
and the benefits of vaccination and flu shots among the infants (Ganz, Yihye & Beckman, 2019)
They should also clarify their confusion regarding vaccination by effective communication. The
family member are initially asked to share their perceptions regarding flu shots and if the if the
nurse identifies any false knowledge, they should Clarify it to them. This strategies primarily
aims to exchange all the relevant information regarding flu and flu shots which should be known
to the patient in order to reduce their concern regarding immunization (Dean & Street, 2015).
Making decision:
This method is also proved to be effective in promoting family centered communication
in the healthcare sector for the proper treatment of the patient. In this method, the nurse should
allow the family members to take decision related to the patient treatment (Gillingham et al.,
2017). Prior to this the nurse should effectively communicate with the family members to
increase their health literacy about the illness. In this case, the nurse should contribute to increase
the health literacy of the family members about the benefits of immunization and risks of flu
(Coleman et al., 2016). After conducting counseling session, nurse should allow the family
members to take decision for their babies.

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Family centered care sometimes seem to hinder the treatment of the patient due to the
different choice, attitudes or emotion of the family members. As in this case, Ashley refuses to
get vaccination for Beth which can hamper her future health. Therefore, it is essential for the
nurse to provide effective strategies that can promote the family centered communication for the
proper treatment of the patient. By the aid of the above mentioned strategies, the nurse should
promote family centered communication and will also increase their awareness regarding the
benefits of immunization in children and should not be avoided (Kaakinen et al., 2018).
Conclusion:
From the essay it can be concluded, vaccination or immunization in case if infants is vital
as it helps them to protect them from any infection or illness. In the above discussion, it is
evident that infants are more vulnerable to seasonal and influenza flu because their immunity
systems are not developed that much. These flu can have long term negative impacts on the
health of the infants and can cause death also. Hence to avoid such adverse health outcome, it is
important for the infants to get flu vaccination. However, some parents have concern related to
immunization like Ashley as she got flu when she was immunization with flu shot during her
pregnancy and for the same cause she does not want Beth to get vaccination. Hence, she was
acknowledged about the positive impacts of flu vaccination and adverse consequences if
avoided. Apart from that nurse promotes family centered communication by the aid of two
different strategies which are Making decision and exchanging information with the parents who
are concerned about vaccination or immunization and its risk.

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