Izvorni znanstveni članak
PARENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS VACCINATION OF THEIR OWN CHILDREN: EXPERIENCE FROM TWO PEDIATRIC CLINICS OF THE ZAGREB-WEST HEALTH CENTER
INES KULIĆ
; Klinika za dječje bolesti Zagreb, 2Hrvatsko katoličko sveučilište, Zagreb, Hrvatska
MARTA ČIVLJAK
; Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Medicinski fakultet, Zagreb, Hrvatska
ROK ČIVLJAK
orcid.org/0000-0001-8766-7438
; Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Medicinski fakultet i Klinika za infektivne bolesti „Dr. Fran Mihaljević“, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
Aim: Vaccination proved to be one of the most effective and safe healthcare interventions, which has significantly reduced the morbidity and mortality of many infectious diseases. However, some parents are not willing to have their children vaccinated, and the parents' negative attitudes towards vaccination have resulted in a declined vaccination coverage rate. Therefore, the level of collective immunity has been severely compromised, primarily among pre-school children. The aim of this study was to examine parents' attitudes towards vaccination of their own children and to determine factors that influence development of these attitudes. Methods: The study was conducted in two pediatric clinics of the Zagreb-West Health Center and included parents having brought their children for vaccination or regular examinations. Participants were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire containing 26 questions used to evaluate the parents' attitudes towards vaccination of their own children. The first part contained questions on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. The second part contained Likert scale for assessment of the parents' attitudes. The results obtained were statistically analyzed using the SPSS 21 statistical software (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0, Armonk, NY, IBM Corp.) and descriptive and inferential statistics methods. Results: The study included 120 parents, 80 (66.7%) of whom were women. The majority (90%) of parents vaccinated their children regularly, 6.7% were concerned about vaccination and had no clear view of the legal obligation to vaccinate children, and only one (0.8%) parent explicitly opposed mandatory vaccination. If they had the right to choose, 37 (30.8%) parents would still vaccinate their children, whereas 76 (63.3%) would refuse to do so. As many as 63 (52.5%) parents stated fear of side effects as the most common reason why they would refuse to vaccinate their child. There was a statistically significant difference in the parents' attitudes towards vaccination according to participant gender and number of children: fathers (p=0.036) showed more positive attitude towards vaccination, as well as parents with more children (p=0.000). No statistically significant difference was found in the participants' attitudes towards vaccination according to their age, marital status, level of education, employment, or family income. As their source of information about vaccination, 102 (85%) respondents listed their physician and 66 (55%) listed medical nurses. Internet as the source of information about vaccination was reported by 98 (81.7%) respondents, 75 (62.5%) respondents exchanged information about vaccination with their friends and other parents, and 33 (27.5%) respondents acquired needed information through leaflets, television and magazines. Regarding respondents' satisfaction with the information about vaccination obtained, 77 (64.2%) parents were satisfied and 42 (35%) were dissatisfied with the information they received from their physician and medical nurse. Discussion: Most parents had a positive attitude towards child vaccination and a high percentage of them fulfilled their obligation and regularly vaccinated their children. Less than 1% of parents were explicit opponents of mandatory vaccination. The main reason why parents refused to vaccinate their children was fear from vaccine side effects, and not mistrust of their effectiveness. Inadequate information leads to parents' over-concerns, especially regarding vaccine side effects, which may result in inappropriate decisions regarding vaccination. Conclusion: Although most of our parents had a positive attitude towards child vaccination and a high percentage of them regularly vaccinated their children, additional efforts should be made to educate the public about the importance of vaccination. Healthcare professionals, especially bachelors and masters of nursing, could play greater role in educating parents on the importance of vaccination, its effectiveness and safety, with the aim of raising and maintaining high childhood vaccination rates in Croatia.
Ključne riječi
vaccination; children; prevention; parents; attitudes; infectious diseases
Hrčak ID:
224693
URI
Datum izdavanja:
6.9.2019.
Posjeta: 2.461 *