Parental Vaccine Hesitancy;Which Childhood Vaccines Were Refused and Why?

Authors : Buket Güngör, Sezen Koparan

Pages : 506-513

Doi:10.53394/akd.1340997

View : 111 | Download : 130

Publication Date : 2024-09-19

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Aim: One of the main purposes of immunization services is to protect vaccinated children from vaccine-preventable disease, and the other is to ensure that disease factors can be brought under control in the society by reaching a certain immunization rate. This study aims to investigate which childhood vaccines refused in the calendar and the reason these refusals. Method : The files comprising the refusal to consent to child vaccination forms submitted to Antalya Provincial Directorate of Health in 2019 were reviewed to reveal which vaccines had been refused by parents besides the reasons for vaccination refusals. Results: In total, 286 parents made 977 vaccination refusals, with 80 of the parents refused only one vaccine, and notably 77.5% of them (n=62) refused only the Hepatitis A vaccine. Moreover, 40.2% of the parents who refused to consent to their child’s vaccination stated that they refused the vaccination since they did not consider the vaccine necessary, along with 37.1% who did not trust the vaccines, 13.2% who were afraid of the adverse effects of vaccination, and 9.5% who had religious reasons. Conclusion: The increasing safety concerns of parents about vaccines should be addressed in order to inform parents about the contents, effects, adverse effects and requirements of vaccines so as to eliminate the false beliefs for the sake of protecting public health in general. This study is believed to act as a roadmap to prevent vaccination refusals, which are a major public health problem and are expected to increase.
Keywords : Aşılama, Aşı reddi, Bağışıklama, Çocukluk