Online information most cost-effective means of increasing MMR uptake, research finds

Giving parents access to a website containing information about the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is the most cost-effective way of increasing its uptake, new University of Leeds research has found. Informing parents about the vaccine via a website containing information helping parents make a decision about MMR is on average £9.20 cheaper per vaccination to the NHS than informing them solely via a GP consultation, and £7.17 cheaper than via a leaflet providing information about the vaccine. In each case, the figure comprises the cost to the patient of, for example, travelling to a GP’s surgery or private clinic, buying magazines or parenting books containing information on MMR, as well as the cost of additional GP or nurse contact time. Now the experts are recommending that a similar website be developed as part of NHS guidelines on the MMR vaccine. Dr Sandy Tubeuf, a health economist in the School of Medicine...