MMR vaccine and relation to Autism

There have been several incidences of claims and counter claims about the relationship between Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There is a significantly large group of people who believe that MMR vaccine causes ASD, hence heightening their fear for the vaccine and making them shy away from presenting their children for the vaccine. Worse still, the families with history of ASD in the family grow bigger discomfort on the use of the vaccine since they fear that the genetic exposure, coupled with the vaccine that may predispose their children to ASD, is almost a sure way of getting the ASD affecting their children. It is a health danger that faces the nation since the children, who are not vaccinated, risk developing measles that may result in death, mumps that may lead to other complications of the organs in the body and rubella which may expose the child to extreme suffering from pain and fevers.
It is on the basis of the above assumptions that the research by Jain A. et.al, (2016) was conducted to ascertain or refute the claim. A retrospective cohort study was done among children who received the vaccine without family background of ASD and those with family members who have suffered the ASD before. The study involved 95,727 children who were continuously enrolled in health plan from birth to 5 years of age. Generally, the outcomes and the conclusion of the research had it that receipt of the MMR vaccine was not associated with increased risk of ASD, regardless of whether older siblings had ASD. These findings indicate no harmful association between MMR vaccine receipt and ASD even among children already at higher risk for ASD.
Relevance of the article to the study of nursing
The nursing fraternity is mainly concerned with providing care to children and patients who are hospitalized as well as the old age and the community health too. The care for children to prevent diseases at young age has been the preoccupation of post natal care. Vaccination is an integral part of post natal care. Nurses are at the forefront in battling preventable diseases. The registered nurses play a significant role in educating patients, families and even the community at large on disease prevention (Zimlich R., 2014).
This study stands out as one important piece of information that helps shed light on the controversial issue of MMR vaccination and it connection to ASD. By giving this factual and data supported information, the nurses can not only get important information on the MMR vaccine, but also use this information to educate the community during the community health mobilization or sensitization, particularly on the vaccine in question. Nursing as a discipline also benefits from this research since it has the scientifically acquired data that is useful in teaching nursing students on the association of the MMR vaccine and ASD and the surrounding fallacies that come with it.
The article further acts to confirm the position that the nursing fraternity has had on the MMR vaccination before the research. The position of the nursing fraternity has been that the MMR vaccination had nothing to do with the cause of ASD and this research affirms the position through the detailed recording of research findings and analysis of the data collected.
The research methods used
The research method used in the research was I the form of retrospective research from cohorts as stated before. The cohort was derived from a database that has individuals from geographically diverse areas in the USA. The children were identified from the medically insured individuals with both the medical and pharmacy cover, and were born between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2007. The researcher looked at the claims databases of the above cohort and noted down the details of the claim as was.
This research methodology that was used allowed for collection of data from a wide range of participants. Through a retrospective excavation of data, the research benefited from objective information that was not subject to emancipation by the research participants by the fact of belonging to a research cohort. The large number of participants also gives a reliable trend that is instrumental to the drawing of an objective conclusion. This method also benefited the research with data from diverse ages from one year to five years, and a diverse cultural setting as the participants came from different geographical locations, this giving more credibility to the research conclusion. This method also allowed for the collection of other covariates in the research like the education levels of the parents, the race or ethnicity of the participants, the income of the household which are sociodemographics that are associated with vaccine receipts and ASD. These covariates would be hard to obtain with the use of other methods that are not retrospective in nature.
Applicable theoretical framework
The article gives the process and results of a study on the MMR vaccine and the possible association with the ASD. This is not the first research on the same subject and was done on the basis of preexisting research findings that had been done before. This means that the most applicable approach would be the use of the appropriate theoretical framework. Theoretical framework serves to explain, predict, understand phenomena and in many cases to challenge the existing knowledge and in other cases to add to or extend the existing knowledge, within the confines of critical assumptions. A theoretical framework formulated in this case would be the best is exploring more knowledge on the subject and also to challenge the existing knowledge with a hypothesis that would be analyzed through a theoretical framework (Gabriel A., 2013).
An applicable theoretical framework in this case would involve the proposition of the findings of the previous research findings and formulating a hypothesis that presents the position or assumption of the research in relation to the subject. The research and the subsequent data collection would then work towards validating or invalidating the hypothesis. The hypothesis here would help in shaping the theoretical framework. The theoretical framework in this case would also be shaped by the existing pool of knowledge from similar and dissimilar research on the topic of MMR vaccine and ASD.
Results of the study
From the research process and the data collected, it was found that out of 95 727 children in the cohort, 1929 (2.02%) had an older sibling with ASD. Overall, 994 (1.04%) children in the cohort had ASD diagnosed during follow-up. Among those who had an older sibling with ASD, 134 (6.9%) were diagnosed with ASD, compared with 860 (0.9%) diagnosed with ASD among those with siblings without ASD (P < .001). The MMR vaccination rate (?1 dose) for the children with unaffected siblings (siblings without ASD) was 84% (n = 78 549) at 2 years and 92% (n = 86063) at age 5 years. In contrast, the MMR vaccination rates for children with
older siblings with ASD were lower (73%at age2years [n = 1409] and 86% [n = 1660] at age 5 years).
In simpler terms, the research found out through the large number of participants, that among the children who had older siblings, the receipt of the MMR vaccine was in no way linked to the increased risk of ASD despite the fact that the older siblings had the ASD or not. The results show no harmful link between the MMR vaccine administration and the onset of ASD even among the children who were genetically already at risk of ASD.
Significance of the results
The results that are dawn from the large number of participants is seen to be statistically significant since it is large enough to give the data that would be relevant for making the conclusion as above stated on the research subject. There was also categorical segmenting of the research findings that would be of significance in getting the finer details of the research findings. The number of research participants was large hence representative enough to make plausible conclusion on the relationship between the MMR vaccine and the ASD occurrence.
Transferability of the results
The results that the research brought forth to the nursing fraternity from this given exercise are significant in emphasizing the connection between the MMR vaccine and the ASD occurrence. The results from the research can help the nurses particularly in the community based work on vaccination to teach the community on the safety of the MMR vaccination. The findings are therefore very transferable to the practical use by the RNs and the community health volunteers who would be working to sensitize the community on matters to do with vaccination and its importance.
Implications for Nursing Practice
The results from the research had one major implication for the nursing fraternity. One of the biggest functions of research is to affirm the previous findings or to challenge the previous beliefs. In this case, the research served to affirm the medical practice that had been going on in the previous years and giving assurance to the Nurses that the MMR vaccine was an effective and safe way of helping prevent Measles, mumps and Rubella. It also helped further deconstruct the assertions and beliefs that were being propagated against the vaccine, and it did this with an even larger pool of data from many participants having been looked at in the process of the research.
Implications for future research
The research is important for the nursing practice in the present and also the future researchers in the coming years. In science, there are no absolute conclusions that should stop further research. The findings in this case are instrumental in forming the basis for carrying out more focused researches in smaller geographical regions with the aim of finding factors that lead the locals of that region to have negative mentality about the MMR vaccine. The research findings herein are not an end to themselves but opening up possibilities of other investigative researches on the social conception of the MMR vaccine.
Summary
The research conducted on the connection between MMR vaccine and ASD heroine was comprehensive enough since it makes us of a large pool of participants. The design is a retrospective one taking into account a cohort of participants drawn from the various parts of the US hence giving a good representative data collected from the research. The final findings that indicate that the myths propagated that MMR vaccination causes ASD are unfounded and not supported by any past data available within the medical setting. The findings here are important to the nursing profession since it will be use by the nurses to advocate for vaccination and to sensitize the community on the safety and importance of the MMR vaccination for the children.
References
Gabriel A., (2013). Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Theoretical Framework. Retrieved July 08, 2018 from http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/theoreticalframework
Jain A. et.al, (2016). Autism Occurrence by MMR Vaccine Status Among US Children With Older Siblings With and Without Autism. American Medical Association.
Zimlich R., (2014). Nurses play key role in vaccination success. Retrieved July 08, 2018 from http://healthcaretraveler.modernmedicine.com/healthcare-traveler/content/tags/measles/nurses-play-key-role-vaccination-success