Vaccine hesitancy and risk communication — formative SAQs

SAQ 1 — Definition and 3Cs (10 marks)

A practice nurse asks you to "deal with the anti-vax family" booked for a six-week check. The infant is well. Records show no vaccines given. The parents say vaccines are available at your clinic but they "want to wait until he is older."[1]

Questions

1. Define vaccine hesitancy using the SAGE Working Group concept and explain why this family fits or does not fit that definition. (3 marks)
2. Map this encounter to the SAGE 3Cs (confidence, complacency, convenience) with one assessment question for each C. (4 marks)
3. Give a one-sentence problem representation suitable for the case notes. (3 marks) [1]

Model answer — must-hit points

Definition (3): Delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services; continuum rather than binary anti-vax label. This family has available services and is delaying → hesitancy, not pure access failure.[1]

3Cs (4):

• Confidence — "What have you heard that makes vaccines feel unsafe?"
• Complacency — "What do you know about the diseases these vaccines prevent in babies?"
• Convenience — "If we book a return visit, what would make it hard to attend?" At least one tailored hypothesis for this family under two Cs (e.g. complacency if "older is safer"; confidence if safety fears).[1]

Problem representation (3): Six-week-old infant with zero doses; parental request to delay despite available clinic vaccination; likely confidence/complacency mix; relationship and on-time primary series at risk.[1]