Naslov
Childhood Vaccination Refusal and Hesitancy in Croatia: Insights from a Population-Based Study

Autori
Repalust, Anja ; Šević, Sandra ; Rihtar, Stanko ; Štulhofer, Aleksandar

Izvornik
Psychology Health & Medicine (1354-8506) 21 (2016); 1-11

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Vaccine hesitancy ; vaccine refusal ; Croatia ; population-based study ; complementary and alternative medicine

Sažetak
Considering that programmatic data suggest a recent rise in vaccine refusal in Croatia, this study, first of its kind in Southeast Europe, aimed to estimate the prevalence, and sociodemographic, and sociocultural determinants of childhood vaccine refusal and hesitancy (CVRH) intentions among Croatian adults. Multi-stage stratified population-based survey included 1000 individuals aged 18–88 years (Mage = 47.7, SD = 17.8), of whom 51.7% were women. The outcome, a categorical indicator, distinguished among individuals who would approve vaccinating their children (vaccine accepting), those who would approve some but not all vaccines (vaccine hesitant), and those who would refuse vaccination (vaccine refusing). A sizeable minority of participants was characterized by childhood vaccine refusal (10.6%) and hesitancy intentions (19.5%). In a multivariate assessment controlling for parenthood, the odds of vaccine hesitancy were significantly increased by a younger age (AOR = 1.96–3.03, p < .01). Religiosity (AOR = 1.12, p < .05) and the use of alternative medicine (AOR = 2.85, p < .001) increased the odds of vaccine refusal. However, individual characteristics seem to be relatively poor predictors of CVRH intentions in Croatia. Following the social contagion model, future research should move beyond individual-level approach and take into account social interaction and social network effects.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Sociologija

POVEZANOST RADA