Immunization as a Health Promotion Practice

May 22, 2018

Immunization refers to the prescription of antigenic substances (vaccines) to kindle persons’ immune system and nurture the adaptive immunity towards particular pathogens. For instance, the vaccine for measles incorporates measles virus while the vaccine for Hib has the Hib bacteria (Olson, Young & Schultz, 2016). Nonetheless, these viruses or bacteria have been weakened in a way that they don’t make the infected individuals sick. In this way, immunization helps to avert or ameliorate morbidity towards particular infection. The appropriate vaccination schedule is developed to safeguard infants and the youths during their tender ages that are when they are most susceptible and before they are predisposed to potentially fatal illness. Individuals do not surpass the necessity for immunization. The particular vaccinations required for grown-ups are defined by lifestyle, age, former vaccinations, kinds and places of travels and high-risk situations (Olson, Young & Schultz, 2016). Health promotion alludes to the process of facilitating individuals to augment regulation of their health and its determinants and subsequently improving their health. Therefore, immunization poses as a health promotion activity through allowing persons to increase control of their health and its contributing factors.

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Health Belief Model (HBM)

Any individual is vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases. For instance, every child should be vaccinated for polio, Hepatitis B and influenza among others key diseases. Nonetheless, for some genetic diseases such as Sotos syndrome and Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, children are vaccinated to prevent inheriting them from their parents (Raingruber, 2014). Thus, depending on age, lifestyle, genetics of parents and predisposition to high-risk circumstances, any individual is susceptible to vaccine-preventable illness. Developing vaccines to avert the impacts of the preventable maladies is significant as it inhibits the return of the epidemics such as influenza and measles. For example, between 2 to 5% of individuals who contract paralytic polio die of it while numerous of the victims cannot physically function normally in life. Parents are given immunization schedules on giving birth to ensure the babies are vaccinated timely. Unless there is an outbreak that requires the government to conduct a door to door immunization campaign, parents will immunize their children in the local hospitals. Immunized children have increased chances of survival and subsequently contribute positively to the society.

Nonetheless, there are numerous perceptual contradictions with various vaccines that hinders taking actions (utilizing the recommended immunization). For example, there are suppositions that some vaccines make the immunized individual sick or resistant to other treatments. Prenatal and postnatal education programs should guide guardians effectively and identify the positive impacts of taking action (ensuring children are vaccinated) and negative effects of not vaccinating children. Media campaigns also play a crucial part in reassuring, informing and assisting individuals to take action that utilizes the recommended immunizations. Individuals with higher levels of education have higher chances of immunizing their children and thus the level of education level is a crucial factor inspiring confidence to immunize children. Also, easier access to the recommended immunization by cost and distance will encourage individuals to get the immunization.

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