Understanding the approach of family physicians in Turkey to the problem of vaccine rejection

Abstract

Vaccines not only protect individuals, but also prevent the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases in the community. Vaccine rejection in Turkey increased 125-fold between 2012 and 2019. Thus, this cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge of family physicians about vaccination, which can be the keystone of vaccine rejection. Evaluations were also made of vaccine recommendations, practice, and confidence in vaccine safety. The study was conducted using a 41-item questionnaire, completed by 804 (3.3%) family physicians serving in Turkey. The most common reasons for vaccine rejection were found to be fear of disease from the vaccine substance at the rate of 53.7% (n = 298), religious reasons at 32.3% (n = 179), disbelief of protection at 9.9% (n = 55), and fear of infertility at 4.1% (n = 23). Logistic regression analysis was applied to determine the factors affecting the power of the family physician’s recommendation. The results showed that age >41 years (OR = 1.625 (1.129–2.34)), having self-efficacy (OR = 1.628 (1.183–2.24)) and belief in the usefulness of the vaccine made a positive contribution to the power to recommend vaccines (OR = 1.420 (1.996–1.012)). The results of this study demonstrated that training on vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases has a positive effect on self-efficacy (p < .0001). This study can be considered of value as the first to demonstrate the beliefs and attitudes of family physicians in Turkey. Further training courses to increase knowledge of vaccines, vaccine-preventable diseases, and communication skills would be of benefit for family physicians.