PhD Thesis - ResearchSpace@Auckland - The University of Auckland

The assertion of the right to full information became more extensive within the public
domain after the Cartwright Inquiry, which highlighted the disturbing results that can
occur when people are not fully informed about their condition and treatment.
Through the feminist movement of the 1970s, the Women’s Health Movement of the
1980s and the Cartwright Inquiry, women had become more conscious of their own
bodies and own health. As the primary caregivers for their children, this
responsiveness often translated into assuming more responsibility for their children’s
health, including immunisation.
The greater awareness of health in the 1980s, particularly for children, was
strengthened by a number of initiatives focused on child health during this period.
Studies highlighted particular problems with child health, including the less than
desirable levels of immunisation. The development of parenting magazines such as
Little Treasures also placed emphasis on the importance of care and development of
children. Although not a new concept, a government committee on child health was
established to make recommendations although there was no guarantee they would be
implemented. Immunisation, as part of child wellbeing, became much more visible to
parents in the 1980s and hence, for a gradually increasing number, became an issue
worthy of discussion with friends, family and partners.
The consequence of this was that the Health Department and health professionals now
had to take account of parental expectations and certainly in the case of the Health
Department there was a time lag before information matched requirements. It was not
until the early 1990s that detailed information on immunisation began to be produced,
as the Department gradually assimilated and acted upon the changes in parental
expectations.
By the end of the 1980s immunisation began to acquire an increasingly important
focus for parents as immunisable diseases declined and side-effects achieved a greater
prominence as the risks of vaccines became a more significant factor. Nevertheless,
although parents might by this time have discussed immunisation, rather than just
blindly accepting it, the majority were still motivated to have their children
immunised.
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