Hesitancy towards Childhood Vaccinations among Parents of Children with Underlying Chronic Medical Conditions in Italy
Background: This study was designed to evaluate vaccination hesitancy and behaviors among parents of children with chronic conditions. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June to December 2021 in three public hospitals in southern Italy. Data were collected using a face-to-face in...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Vaccines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/10/8/1254 |
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| author | Francesco Napolitano Grazia Miraglia del Giudice Silvia Angelillo Italo Fattore Francesca Licata Concetta Paola Pelullo Gabriella Di Giuseppe |
| author_facet | Francesco Napolitano Grazia Miraglia del Giudice Silvia Angelillo Italo Fattore Francesca Licata Concetta Paola Pelullo Gabriella Di Giuseppe |
| author_sort | Francesco Napolitano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: This study was designed to evaluate vaccination hesitancy and behaviors among parents of children with chronic conditions. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June to December 2021 in three public hospitals in southern Italy. Data were collected using a face-to-face interview of parents of children up to 17 years of age with at least one chronic condition. Results: Of the 532 parents approached, 444 agreed to participate, with a response rate of 83.4%. Almost half of parents (43%) knew that children with chronic diseases are at greater risk of complications from VPDs, and 21.6% knew all the vaccinations available in Italy. Additionally, 55.9% felt that vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) are very dangerous for their children, and 28.7% were very worried about the side effects of vaccines. The result of the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccine (PACV) score indicated that 23.2% of parents were hesitant about vaccinations. Parental vaccine hesitancy was significantly more common among parents who had female children, among those who did not know the recommended vaccinations, among those who had a higher concern of potential side effects of the vaccines, among those who believed that the administration of the vaccinations was not useful, and among who received information on recommended vaccination from the internet, social and mass media. Conclusions: Important efforts by policy makers and healthcare providers must be implemented to counter vaccine hesitancy among parents. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:47:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4b8a8b15111742a682430223ecf5fa93 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:47:43Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj.art-4b8a8b15111742a682430223ecf5fa932023-12-02T00:25:15ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2022-08-01108125410.3390/vaccines10081254Hesitancy towards Childhood Vaccinations among Parents of Children with Underlying Chronic Medical Conditions in ItalyFrancesco Napolitano0Grazia Miraglia del Giudice1Silvia Angelillo2Italo Fattore3Francesca Licata4Concetta Paola Pelullo5Gabriella Di Giuseppe6Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Health Sciences, University of Catanzaro ‘‘Magna Græcia”, 88100 Catanzaro, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Health Sciences, University of Catanzaro ‘‘Magna Græcia”, 88100 Catanzaro, ItalyDepartment of Movement Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Naples “Parthenope”, 80133 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, ItalyBackground: This study was designed to evaluate vaccination hesitancy and behaviors among parents of children with chronic conditions. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June to December 2021 in three public hospitals in southern Italy. Data were collected using a face-to-face interview of parents of children up to 17 years of age with at least one chronic condition. Results: Of the 532 parents approached, 444 agreed to participate, with a response rate of 83.4%. Almost half of parents (43%) knew that children with chronic diseases are at greater risk of complications from VPDs, and 21.6% knew all the vaccinations available in Italy. Additionally, 55.9% felt that vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) are very dangerous for their children, and 28.7% were very worried about the side effects of vaccines. The result of the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccine (PACV) score indicated that 23.2% of parents were hesitant about vaccinations. Parental vaccine hesitancy was significantly more common among parents who had female children, among those who did not know the recommended vaccinations, among those who had a higher concern of potential side effects of the vaccines, among those who believed that the administration of the vaccinations was not useful, and among who received information on recommended vaccination from the internet, social and mass media. Conclusions: Important efforts by policy makers and healthcare providers must be implemented to counter vaccine hesitancy among parents.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/10/8/1254childrenchronic medical conditionscross-sectional studyItalyPACVvaccine hesitancy |
| spellingShingle | Francesco Napolitano Grazia Miraglia del Giudice Silvia Angelillo Italo Fattore Francesca Licata Concetta Paola Pelullo Gabriella Di Giuseppe Hesitancy towards Childhood Vaccinations among Parents of Children with Underlying Chronic Medical Conditions in Italy Vaccines children chronic medical conditions cross-sectional study Italy PACV vaccine hesitancy |
| title | Hesitancy towards Childhood Vaccinations among Parents of Children with Underlying Chronic Medical Conditions in Italy |
| title_full | Hesitancy towards Childhood Vaccinations among Parents of Children with Underlying Chronic Medical Conditions in Italy |
| title_fullStr | Hesitancy towards Childhood Vaccinations among Parents of Children with Underlying Chronic Medical Conditions in Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hesitancy towards Childhood Vaccinations among Parents of Children with Underlying Chronic Medical Conditions in Italy |
| title_short | Hesitancy towards Childhood Vaccinations among Parents of Children with Underlying Chronic Medical Conditions in Italy |
| title_sort | hesitancy towards childhood vaccinations among parents of children with underlying chronic medical conditions in italy |
| topic | children chronic medical conditions cross-sectional study Italy PACV vaccine hesitancy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/10/8/1254 |
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