Department of Health Sciences, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, 6 Diogenes Str. Engomi, 2404, P.O. Box: 22006, 1516, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Nov 18;21(1):2119. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-12179-5.
One of the main reasons that influence parental choice to postpone or avoid children's vaccination is insufficient knowledge. Mothers' knowledge can be considered as an important factor when determining childcare, as they are often the primary decision maker for their children's healthcare issues. This study aimed to assess the level of mothers' knowledge and practice on certain aspects of vaccination for their child/children in Greece.
This was an online cross-sectional survey, which collected information about mother's socio-demographic characteristics, vaccination-related information, 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 four broad geographical areas of Greece (Attica, Central Greece, North Greece, and Crete/Aegean Islands).
A total of 1885 Greek mothers participated in the study. The majority stated that they vaccined their child/children (98%), and the most popular source of information about vaccination was their child's pediatrician (89%). About half of participants (52%) have delayed their child/children vaccination with their pediatrician's suggestion being the main driver. The median knowledge score was 11 which indicates a high knowledge level for childhood vaccination among Greek mothers. Multiple linear regression analysis identified an inverse association between education and knowledge score, characterized by higher knowledge scores among individuals with secondary and even higher among those with higher education. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the strict adherence to the prescribed dosage as indicated by the local recommendations for each vaccine, was associated with most of the knowledge items included in the study.
Our findings show that the vast majority of mothers in Greece did vaccinate their child/children, while pediatricians appear to have a very influential role in mothers' decision making. High knowledge around vaccination was associated with mothers' educational attainment, being particularly high among those who completed higher education. Considerable attention is required from public health authorities to promote vaccination through educational programs and campaigns, particularly aimed at people with lower educational attainment. Additionally, improving communication between pediatricians and mothers to reach those women who have not decided to vaccinate or delayed vaccination for their children, may prove to be very beneficial.
影响父母推迟或避免儿童接种疫苗的主要原因之一是知识不足。母亲的知识可以被认为是决定儿童保育的一个重要因素，因为她们通常是孩子医疗保健问题的主要决策者。本研究旨在评估希腊母亲在儿童疫苗接种某些方面的知识水平和实践情况。
这是一项在线横断面调查，使用自我管理问卷收集了母亲的社会人口统计学特征、与疫苗接种相关的信息以及疫苗知识方面的信息。该调查于 2020 年 4 月至 6 月间进行，研究人群包括希腊四个大地理区域（阿提卡、中希腊、北希腊和克里特/爱琴海岛屿）的 18 岁以上至少有一个孩子（<18 岁）的母亲。
共有 1885 名希腊母亲参与了这项研究。大多数母亲表示她们给自己的孩子接种了疫苗（98%），而接种疫苗信息的最主要来源是孩子的儿科医生（89%）。大约一半的参与者（52%）根据儿科医生的建议推迟了孩子的疫苗接种，而儿科医生的建议是主要的推动因素。中位数知识得分为 11 分，表明希腊母亲对儿童疫苗接种的知识水平较高。多元线性回归分析发现，教育与知识得分呈负相关，表现为接受中等教育甚至更高等教育的个体知识得分更高。多因素逻辑回归分析显示，严格遵循当地推荐的每种疫苗的规定剂量与研究中包含的大多数知识项目相关。
我们的研究结果表明，希腊绝大多数母亲确实给自己的孩子接种了疫苗，而儿科医生在母亲的决策中似乎发挥了非常重要的作用。高疫苗接种知识与母亲的教育程度相关，特别是那些完成高等教育的母亲知识水平更高。公共卫生当局需要相当大的关注，通过教育计划和宣传活动来促进疫苗接种，特别是针对教育程度较低的人群。此外，改善儿科医生与母亲之间的沟通，以接触那些尚未决定为孩子接种疫苗或推迟疫苗接种的女性，可能会被证明是非常有益的。
