Department of Health Sciences, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus.
PLoS One. 2021 Sep 20;16(9):e0257590. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257590. eCollection 2021.
Vaccine hesitancy is identified as one of the top threats to global health. A significant drop of childhood vaccine coverage is reported worldwide. One of the key reasons that influenced mothers' choice to postpone, or avoid children's vaccination, is knowledge. This study aimed to assess the level of Cypriot mothers' knowledge on certain aspects of vaccination of their children, examine the association between vaccination knowledge and selected socio-demographic factors, and lastly assess the association of mothers' knowledge about vaccination with vaccination coverage and delay, compliance to the recommended schedules, vaccination during pregnancy and mother-pediatrician relationship.
An online-based cross-sectional study conducted to collect information about socio-demographic characteristics, child's characteristics, vaccination, and vaccine knowledge, using a self-administered questionnaire. The survey was conducted between April 2020 and June 2020 and the study population included mothers over 18 years old with at least one child (<18 years old) living in Cyprus.
A total of 703 Cypriot mothers participated in the study. Most of the participants stated that they vaccined their children (97%) and the most popular source of information about vaccination was their pediatrician (90%). More than half of the participants (57%) have delayed their child/children vaccination with their pediatrician's suggestion being the main reason. 36% of mothers had low knowledge while the overall correct rate was 13.6% and the median (IQR) knowledge score was 11 (9-12). Having a medium knowledge about vaccination was associated with having a medium or high income, whilst high knowledge compared to low knowledge was associated with completed a higher education and having a high income. Our analysis showed that the correct knowledge by mothers with regards to vaccination increases the probability of vaccinating their children, following the local recommendations for vaccine dosages, and acquiring and trusting vaccination-related information from their children's pediatrician.
Our findings show that the majority of mothers in Cyprus had positives perceptions regarding childhood vaccination, as reflected with the high vaccination rate, however, some aspects of mothers' knowledge of vaccination need to be improved. Public health strategies to promote vaccination, education programs as well as improved communication tools between pediatricians and mothers need to be considered to achieve favorable vaccination attitudes and practices for all mothers in Cyprus.
疫苗犹豫被认为是全球卫生的头号威胁之一。世界各地报告称，儿童疫苗接种率显著下降。影响母亲选择推迟或避免儿童接种疫苗的一个关键原因是知识。本研究旨在评估塞浦路斯母亲对儿童某些疫苗接种方面知识的水平，研究疫苗接种知识与选定社会人口统计学因素之间的关系，最后评估母亲对疫苗接种的知识与疫苗接种覆盖率和延迟、遵守推荐时间表、怀孕期间接种疫苗以及母亲-儿科医生关系之间的关系。
本研究采用在线横断面研究，收集社会人口统计学特征、儿童特征、疫苗接种和疫苗知识方面的信息，使用自我管理问卷。该调查于 2020 年 4 月至 2020 年 6 月进行，研究人群包括年龄在 18 岁以上且至少有一名（<18 岁）儿童居住在塞浦路斯的母亲。
共有 703 名塞浦路斯母亲参加了这项研究。大多数参与者表示她们给孩子接种了疫苗（97%），而最受欢迎的疫苗接种信息来源是儿科医生（90%）。超过一半的参与者（57%）曾因儿科医生的建议而延迟为孩子接种疫苗。36%的母亲知识水平较低，总体正确率为 13.6%，中位数（IQR）知识得分 11（9-12）。接种疫苗的中等知识水平与中等或高收入有关，而与低收入相比，高水平知识与完成高等教育和高收入有关。我们的分析表明，母亲在疫苗接种方面的正确知识会增加她们按照当地疫苗剂量推荐为孩子接种疫苗的可能性，并从孩子的儿科医生那里获得和信任与疫苗接种相关的信息。
我们的研究结果表明，塞浦路斯大多数母亲对儿童疫苗接种持积极态度，这反映在高疫苗接种率上，但母亲对疫苗接种知识的某些方面需要改进。需要考虑采取公共卫生策略来促进疫苗接种、教育计划以及改善儿科医生与母亲之间的沟通工具，以实现所有塞浦路斯母亲对疫苗接种的有利态度和做法。
