Age, Ethnicity and Politics Shape UK Parents’ Vaccine Attitudes, Study Reveals
..Research identifies key factors driving childhood immunisation hesitancy
By Stephen Adeleye
January 8, 2026
Parents’ age, ethnic background, and political views significantly influence their attitudes toward childhood vaccines, according to a comprehensive UK study that offers new insights into one of public health’s most pressing challenges.
Dr. Kennedy Oberhiri Obohwemu, Senior Lecturer at Scholars School System (Leeds Trinity University Partnership) and founder of the PENKUP Research Institute, surveyed 818 parents and guardians of young children across the United Kingdom. The findings reveal that vaccine hesitancy follows distinct demographic patterns, with older parents and those from non-British European backgrounds showing the greatest reluctance to immunise their children.
*Mapping the Hesitancy Landscape*
Vaccine hesitancy threatens to undermine decades of progress in protecting children from preventable diseases. When immunisation rates fall below critical thresholds, outbreaks of measles, whooping cough, and other illnesses can resurface, putting vulnerable children at risk.
Understanding who hesitates and why is essential for designing effective public health responses. Dr. Obohwemu’s research identifies specific demographic groups requiring targeted attention and reveals the complex factors shaping parental vaccine decisions.
The study focused on parents of children aged 0 to 6 years, the period when most childhood vaccines are administered. Using the validated Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) scale, researchers measured hesitancy levels across various demographic groups, with scores above 50 indicating significant reluctance.
*Age and Experience*
Older parents demonstrated higher vaccine hesitancy than their younger counterparts. This finding challenges assumptions that age brings greater acceptance of medical authority and established health practices.
Several factors may explain this pattern. Older parents may have accumulated more exposure to vaccine-critical content over their lifetimes. They might hold stronger established beliefs that resist new information. Some may remember now-discredited vaccine scares from earlier decades, with those memories lingering despite scientific refutation.
Younger parents, having grown up with routine childhood vaccination as an unquestioned norm, may approach immunisation with less skepticism. They also tend to be more digitally native, potentially giving them better skills for evaluating online health information.
*Ethnic Variations*
Ethnicity emerged as a powerful predictor of vaccine attitudes. Parents identifying as “White Other,” encompassing Polish, Irish, Italian, Romanian, German, and other non-British European populations, recorded the highest hesitancy levels.
This finding aligns with Dr. Obohwemu’s previous research highlighting vaccine resistance in these communities. The pattern suggests that public health campaigns designed for the general British population may miss the mark with immigrant European families who bring different healthcare experiences and cultural perspectives.
Other ethnic groups showed varying hesitancy levels, indicating that one-size-fits-all approaches to vaccine promotion will inevitably leave some communities inadequately served. Culturally responsive strategies acknowledging diverse backgrounds and concerns are essential.
*Political Ideology Matters*
Political views significantly influenced vaccine attitudes, with conservative-leaning parents showing greater hesitancy than those with progressive orientations. This politicisation of health decisions reflects broader societal patterns where medical interventions become entangled with ideological positions about government authority, individual freedom, and institutional trust.
The connection between politics and vaccine attitudes complicates public health communication. Messages emphasizing collective responsibility and public good may resonate with progressive audiences but alienate conservatives who prioritise individual choice and skepticism of government mandates.
Effective vaccine promotion must navigate these ideological divides, framing immunisation in ways that appeal across the political spectrum rather than inadvertently signaling partisan allegiance.
*Trust and Information Sources*
Distrust in healthcare systems emerged as a major driver of hesitancy. Parents who questioned the NHS’s reliability or motives were far more likely to resist childhood vaccines. Building and maintaining institutional trust is therefore fundamental to improving vaccine acceptance.
Safety concerns about vaccines themselves also played a substantial role. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence of vaccine safety, worries persist about side effects, ingredient toxicity, and alleged links to conditions like autism. These concerns, though scientifically unfounded, feel very real to parents and require respectful engagement rather than dismissal.
Social media’s influence proved particularly problematic. Parents who relied on social platforms for vaccine information showed elevated hesitancy, reflecting the abundance of misinformation circulating online. False claims spread rapidly on social media, often packaged in emotionally compelling formats that exploit parental protective instincts.
*What Didn’t Matter*
Surprisingly, income and education levels showed no significant relationship with vaccine hesitancy in this study. This finding contradicts common assumptions that higher education naturally leads to greater vaccine acceptance.
In reality, well-educated parents sometimes demonstrate strong vaccine skepticism, applying critical thinking skills selectively to scrutinise vaccines while accepting unverified alternative health claims. Education alone does not guarantee scientific literacy or immunity to misinformation.
The lack of income effects suggests that vaccine hesitancy cuts across socioeconomic strata. Both affluent and economically disadvantaged parents can harbor doubts, though for different reasons and from different information sources.
*Implications for Public Health*
Dr. Obohwemu’s findings point toward several strategic priorities. Culturally sensitive communication that acknowledges diverse backgrounds and addresses specific community concerns is essential. Generic national campaigns should be supplemented with targeted outreach to groups showing elevated hesitancy.
Improving healthcare accessibility reduces opportunities for misinformation to take root. When parents can easily consult trusted healthcare providers about vaccine concerns, doubts can be addressed before hardening into refusal. Long wait times, rushed appointments, and language barriers all create space for hesitancy to flourish.
Combating misinformation requires sustained effort across multiple fronts. Public health authorities must actively counter false claims on social media platforms where misinformation spreads. Healthcare providers need training and time to address vaccine questions compassionately. Community leaders and trusted voices within hesitant groups can serve as credible messengers.
*Tailored Interventions*
The research underscores that effective vaccine promotion cannot rely on universal messages. Different demographic groups require different approaches reflecting their specific concerns, information sources, and cultural contexts.
For older parents, interventions might emphasise updated safety data and address outdated concerns from past vaccine controversies. For “White Other” communities, multilingual materials and engagement with community organizations could improve reach and trust. For politically conservative parents, framing that respects individual decision-making while providing clear risk-benefit information may prove more effective than collectivist appeals.
Social media strategies should extend beyond debunking false claims to proactively sharing accurate, accessible information through channels parents actually use. This requires sustained investment in digital communication capacity within public health agencies.
*Moving Forward*
As vaccine-preventable diseases remain active threats, maintaining high immunisation coverage is critical for protecting vulnerable children who cannot be vaccinated due to age or medical conditions. Herd immunity depends on most families choosing vaccination.
Dr. Obohwemu’s research provides evidence for more sophisticated, demographically informed approaches to vaccine promotion. Rather than treating hesitancy as a monolithic problem requiring a single solution, public health can now target interventions more precisely.
The study also highlights areas requiring further investigation. Understanding why certain demographic characteristics predict hesitancy could reveal additional intervention opportunities. Longitudinal research tracking how attitudes change over time and in response to specific interventions would help refine strategies.
Ultimately, addressing vaccine hesitancy requires sustained commitment to building trust, improving communication, ensuring healthcare accessibility, and meeting parents where they are with information that addresses their genuine concerns. This study provides a foundation for that work.
The complete research offers detailed methodology and statistical analysis for public health professionals and researchers working on immunisation programmes.
Check it out here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/397803689_Parents’_Sociodemographic_Characteristics_and_Childhood_Vaccine_Hesitancy_in_The_United_Kingdom
https://aimjournals.com/index.php/corr/article/view/355
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, JANUARY 10TH 2026)
