PARENTS’ VIEWS AND INFORMATION STATUS ON CHILDHOOD VACCINES: WHICH MYTHS PLAY A ROLE

Abstract

Objectives: The participation of families in childhood vaccination decreases slightly every year around the world. Parents arrive at a decision that vaccines are not safe for their children due to many sources of misinformation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vaccine hesitancy, vaccine knowledge status and socio-demographic characteristics of the children’s parents. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 361 parents of children aged 5 years and under, who were admitted to our paediatric outpatient clinic, were included. The parents received scores between 0–20 points according to the correct answers they gave to the questions asked. Results: Although all parents had a positive attitude towards vaccination, some myths, e.g. that vaccination could weaken the child’s immune system because it contains heavy metals which could cause infertility and that complementary and alternative medicine could replace vaccination, are thought to be real by 1.7% to 34.6% of the parents. Conclusions: Since the presence of misinformation may lead to vaccine hesitancy and incomplete vaccination, healthcare personnel have important duties and responsibilities for this group.