It’s a Matter of Institutional Trust: Seasonal Childhood Vaccine Uptake During a Time of Mixed Messages in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

In a time of conflicting information, how does trust in institutions and their messages shape parents’ decisions around childhood vaccination? Using a mixed-methods approach with survey (N = 337 parents) and interview data (N = 23), this study explores seasonal vaccine uptake and hesitancy among parents in the Canadian province of Alberta since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that parental perceptions of vaccinations largely reflected the messages presented by trusted institutions. Parents who vaccinated their children for COVID-19 and influenza expressed higher levels of trust in public health agencies and the federal government, but not their own provincial government. They also described vaccination as a collective responsibility, as often advocated by the institutions in which they placed their trust. Parents who did not vaccinate their children reported higher levels of trust in the more conservative provincial government. Their reasoning focused on individual risks and benefits, reflecting common messages presented by the province. They also expressed skepticism for healthcare institutions and described viral infection as inevitable and mild, reinforcing a theory of moral calm in relation to childhood infections. Findings contribute to a larger understanding of how individualized parental perceptions of risk vary with institutional messages and shape decisions.