Vaccine Hesitancy: An Overview on Parents’ Opinions about Vaccination and Possible Reasons of Vaccine Refusal

Vaccine hesitancy has increased worldwide with a subsequent decreasing of vaccination rates and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases (i.e. measles, poliomyelitis and pertussis) in several developed countries, including Italy.

The authors conducted a survey to investigate the attitudes of a parents’ sample about vaccinations by the distribution of questionnaires in six lower secondary schools of the Italian city of Messina.

Data analysis showed that parents are, theoretically, favorable towards vaccinations but have little knowledge of such practices, sometimes not being unaware of the types of vaccines administrated to their children. Health education and communication of correct information are certainly the cornerstones to improve the situation and to fight the widespread and non-grounded fears about vaccines.

Source: Journal of Public Health Research

Date of Publication: December 14, 2020