Experience with Parental Vaccination Refusal and Attitudes about Vaccinations of Pediatricians in Greece

Abstract

Aim: To study the experience of Greek pediatricians with parents who refuse their children's vaccination and their attitudes towards vaccinations. Study Design: Nation-wide questionnaire-based survey conducted from February through May Original Research Article 2013.Methodology: We included 211 pediatricians.Results: A total of 190 (90%) pediatricians reported that they had encountered at least one case of parental vaccination refusal in the past.During 2012, the pediatricians faced a mean of 10.5 cases of vaccination refusals / 1000 vaccinations.The human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine was the most frequently refused vaccine, followed by the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine."Fear of adverse effects" was the most frequent reason of vaccination refusal (83.8%) followed by "Use of alternative medicine" (46.4%) and "Anti-vaccination belief against all vaccines" (45.3%).Internet was the most frequent source of information for parents who refused vaccination.Of 201 pediatricians, 135 (67.2%) stated that "Childhood vaccinations should be mandatory for primaryschool entry", while 28 (13.9%)stated that "Parents have the right to refuse their children's vaccinations".Lastly, 130 (61.6%) pediatricians stated that they had concerns about vaccines, mainly about their costs (46.2%).Conclusion: Refusal of vaccinations by parents is not frequent in Greece and concerns mainly the HPV and the MMR vaccines.Pediatricians should improve their ability to deal with this issue.

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