On November 15, 2017, KHI hosted a discussion that explored vaccine hesitancy from two viewpoints: health care providers and vaccine-hesitant parents.
Stephen Lauer, M.D., Ph.D., associate chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Kansas Medical Center and a practicing general pediatrician, opened the discussion by speaking about vaccine hesitancy from the perspective of a medical care provider. Jennifer Raff, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kansas, then discussed anti-vaccine sentiment from an anthropological, historical and societal perspective. A panel discussion with health leaders and concerned parents followed the two presentations, with the goal of encouraging dialogue around this often-polarizing issue.