Parental Opinions and Attitudes about Children’s Vaccination Safety in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

Bogumiła Braczkowska, Małgorzata Kowalska, Kamil Barański, Maksymilian Gajda, Tomasz Kurowski and Jan E. Zejda
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Bogumiła Braczkowska: Department of Epidemiology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland
Małgorzata Kowalska: Department of Epidemiology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland
Kamil Barański: Department of Epidemiology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland
Maksymilian Gajda: Department of Epidemiology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland
Tomasz Kurowski: Student Scientific Society Unit at the Department of Epidemiology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland
Jan E. Zejda: Department of Epidemiology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-8

Abstract: Despite mandatory vaccinations in Poland, the final decision on vaccination in children is taken by their parents or legal guardians. Understanding parents’ attitudes and opinions regarding vaccinations is essential for planning and undertaking extensive and properly targeted educational actions aimed at preventing their hesitancy. In 2016, a cross-sectional study was conducted in the Silesian Voivodeship (Poland) in 11 randomly selected educational institutions. The authors’ self-administered questionnaire contained 24 mixed-type questions. It was distributed among 3000 parents or legal guardians of children aged 6–13 years; prior consent of the relevant bioethics committee had been obtained. The response rate was 41.3% ( N = 1239). Data were analysed using descriptive and analytical statistics, and focused on parental opinions regarding the safety of vaccines. Results of simple and multivariable analyses showed that perceived risk of adverse vaccine reaction (AVR), contraindications and perception of the qualification procedure for vaccination as substandard were significant factors associated with the rating of children’s vaccination as unsafe ( p < 0.001). Respondents with a lower level of education, compared with those with higher, more often declared vaccinations to be safe ( p = 0.03); however, results of multivariable analysis did not confirm that effect. AVR occurrence, finding of contraindication to vaccinations and perception of qualification procedure for vaccination were found to be the most important factors responsible for influencing general public opinions in the field of vaccination safety.

Keywords: vaccination safety; adverse vaccine reaction; parental opinions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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