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The development of safe and effective vaccines to prevent multiple infectious diseases has had major impacts on childhood health and overall life expectancy. Since the development of smallpox vaccination in the late 1700s, effective vaccination campaigns have drastically reduced or eliminated many infectious diseases. However, over the last 6 to 8 years, decreasing vaccination rates are contributing to worrisome public health trends across the United States. Periodic reports of measles outbreaks, once considered eradicated, are just one example of a disease being inadequately prevented or re-emerging due to a lack of uptake of available, safe, and effective vaccines (Hotez, 2019). Varying public acceptance of vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially in the U.S., is a more recent example of vaccine mistrust and denial.
Based on nationwide Gallup polling data, nurses in the U.S. have been consistently identified as the most trusted profession for over two decades (Brenan, 2023). Compared to other health professions, nurses have the most frequent and extended contact with the public across many parts of the health care system. High public trust, frequent interactions, and high visibility with the public mean that nurses can positively affect patients' perceptions and acceptance of available vaccines. To ensure that nurses are prepared with accurate information about vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) and vaccinations, nurses should be educated on these topics, as they may also be vulnerable to misinformation from irreputable sources. Information about vaccines and the promotion of vaccination should be threaded throughout nursing curricula, and students should be prepared with communication skills to educate patients on the importance of vaccination.
In a sophomore-level pathophysiology course in a large prelicensure program, faculty developed a project focusing on VPDs and the associated vaccines. The faculty felt strongly that connecting VPDs and vaccination to pathophysiology concepts early in the program, before clinical courses begin, would begin to normalize discussing these topics as within the purview of the student's future nursing roles. Long-term, we hope that assisting students to better understand VPDs and vaccinations will improve their confidence and better prepare them to educate patients on these topics, thereby positively influencing public health.
Influenced by the course level and the enrollment of approximately 350 students, most learning activities in this course engage students at lower...