Rural Australia is out in front!
- provax
- Apr 5, 2014
- 4 min read
Samantha White
Geographic location has a clear effect on the uptake of vaccines in Australia. There is a significant difference in vaccination rates between children in rural areas compared to metropolitan areas. It might come as a surprise to most however, that metropolitan populations demonstrate lower vaccination rates than rural Australia [1,2]. Based on statistics, the main causes of this difference appears to be; access to culturally appropriate health care services; lifestyle choices; income; and Internet access.
Indigenous Australian’s consistently have lower vaccination rates in all states, with one exception. The Northern Territory shows higher rates of vaccination in Aboriginal children [1,3], possibly linked to the fact that vaccines are mainly administered in community health centres (approximately 75% in Northern Territory, compared to the Australian average of less than 10%) [1]. This demonstrates that by having culturally appropriate services run by the community, for the community, Aboriginal people are encouraged to take their children to get vaccinated. The lack of such facilities in metropolitan areas and other states in Australia results in lower vaccination rates within the Aboriginal population [1,2].
Certain groups within Australia’s society chose an alternative, more natural lifestyle and make choices about their healthcare and medical treatments based around these ideologies. Artificial vaccination is said to be against these naturalistic ways of life, and people in this group have the perception that the body should be able to naturally acquire immunity to many infectious agents in our environment. This can be true for a variety of pathogens in our environment, however the risks associated with the disease processed of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) can be serious. For this reason, we see a lower vaccination rate for children in areas where such groups reside, along with occasional outbreaks of a VPD such as measles in these areas. In Western Australia, regions such as Denmark, Mundaring and Fremantle are known areas where people with a more naturalist lifestyle reside. These areas statistically show lower vaccine coverage amongst children [4], putting these unvaccinated children in their population at risk of contracting VPDs if they’re brought into the community (usually by a traveller carrying the disease).
A family’s income should not play a large role in the decision to get a child vaccinated or not. All vaccinations on the National Immunisation Program Schedule are free to families. This program is run and funded by the Australian Government. Though, as seen from statistics from the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR), general practitioners (GPs) administer most vaccines. GPs can charge consultation fees to their patients. People who cannot afford doctors appointments have the option of finding a GP who “bulk-bills” to Medicare so they do not have to pay for the consult, or can go to community health care centres. It is important to note that no matter how the vaccine is administered, the government pays for the vaccine itself, if it is on the NIP schedule.
We are now in the information age, where nearly every person in Australia has access to the Internet. This is especially true of people living in metropolitan areas, where it can be accessed from a home computer, a laptop, a smartphone, or a tablet. The Internet has a myriad of information available, though not all of it is credible, or true. Searching “vaccination” in Google will show various websites, some pro-vaccination and others anti-vaccination. In general, the Australian public can have difficulty differentiating between reliable sources of information, or statements that are not backed-up by credible research. The sheer mass of information available on the Internet makes it near impossible for people with lower health literacy to interpret what information is accurate, and which is being written and uploaded with little to no evidence. Social media is especially involved in the distribution of this information.
The amount of perceived knowledge about vaccination people can acquire from looking on the Internet has promoted a freedom of choice, and resulted in a higher number of conscientious objectors (up to 1.65% in 2011) [5]. Before the inception of the Internet, people got their health care information from their doctor and other allied health professionals, and were educated through posters, advertisements, and brochures that were produced using evidence-based information and based on scientific facts. Now, less people trust the information provided by their doctor and are not complying with what they suggest in regards to vaccination. The Internet age could contribute to the lower vaccination rates seen in metropolitan areas, as people who live in rural areas do not have the same level of access to the Internet and are more likely to listen to the advice given by doctors and health professionals.
References
1. Hull B, Dey A, Mahajan D, Menzies R, McIntyre P. Immunisation coverage annual report, 2009. Communicable Diseases Intelligence Journal. 2011;35(2):132-148.
2. Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Health Performance Framework 2008 report: Immunisation (child and adult) [internet]. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2008 [cited 2014 April 5]. Available from: http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=6442458694
3. Healthy Communities: Immunisation rates for children in 2011-12 [internet]. National Health Performance Authority. 2013 [cited 2014 Apr 5]. Available from: http://www.nhpa.gov.au/internet/nhpa/publishing.nsf/Content/Healthy-communities
4. Western Australian Immunisation Strategy 2013-2015 [internet]. Department of Health WA, Perth. 2013 [cited 2014 Apr 4]. Availabe from: http://www.health.wa.gov.au/publications/annual_reports_2013_DOH.pdf
5. Naidu L, Chiu C, Habig A, Lowbridge C, Jayasinghe S, Wang H, et al. Vaccine preventable diseases and vaccination coverage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Australia 2006-2010. Communicable Diseases Intelligence quarterly report. 2013;37.
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