Abstract
Background: We investigated and compared practices and attitudes about childhood vaccination between young parents and their parents and identified influences and sources of information in the County of Zadar, Croatia. Methods: This research was conducted in six general practice and paediatric medical clinics. It included 300 volunteers, including 150 younger parents and 150 older grandparents. Information was collected with a survey questionnaire. The survey data were statistically processed. Results: The 300 participants were divided into 2 groups. Most of the respondents were married, employed, had a high school education, and had a good economic status, often with two children and living in the city. Generally, the attitude towards vaccination was positive. Healthcare workers made the most important influence on the decision for vaccination. The younger age group was significantly affected by social networks and the internet and wanted more information. They were afraid of the adjuvants in vaccines. The older respondents held that vaccination must be legally regulated and did not believe the anti-vaccine media headlines. Conclusions: Our respondents had positive attitudes towards childhood vaccination, noticed the benefits of vaccinating children, and held that untreated children represent a risk for the community. They were well informed and satisfied with the collaboration with medical professionals, although the media and social networks had some impact on attitudes.
Highlights
Vaccination is an extremely important public health measure that significantly reduced the morbidity and mortality from various infectious diseases in the last sixty years, both in the world and in Croatia
Sociodemographic data showed that the majority of the respondents were women (79.33%, n = 238), married (90.66%, n = 272), employed (71.66%, n = 215), with a high school education (92.66%, n = 278), and a good economic status (79.66%, n = 239), often with at least two children (74.99%, n = 225) and living in the city (65%, n = 195)
The analysis shows that social networks and the internet had a significantly greater impact on younger participants, 12.33% (n = 37) of them, while healthcare workers had the greatest impact on older participants
Summary
Vaccination is an extremely important public health measure that significantly reduced the morbidity and mortality from various infectious diseases in the last sixty years, both in the world and in Croatia. It is one of the important preventative measures to achieve individual and collective immunity. Conclusions: Our respondents had positive attitudes towards childhood vaccination, noticed the benefits of vaccinating children, and held that untreated children represent a risk for the community. They were well informed and satisfied with the collaboration with medical professionals, the media and social networks had some impact on attitudes
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