Barriers and Predictors of Lyme Disease Vaccine Acceptance: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland
Background/Objectives: Lyme disease (LD) is a major public health problem in Europe and the United States, with increasing incidence and not many prevention options. Vaccine hesitancy might be a significant barrier to successful vaccination campaigns having in mind previous vaccine development failu...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Vaccines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/1/55 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832587333065506816 |
|---|---|
| author | Dawid Lewandowski Artur Sulik Filip Raciborski Milena Krasnodebska Joanna Gebarowska Aleksandra Stalewska Kacper Toczylowski |
| author_facet | Dawid Lewandowski Artur Sulik Filip Raciborski Milena Krasnodebska Joanna Gebarowska Aleksandra Stalewska Kacper Toczylowski |
| author_sort | Dawid Lewandowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background/Objectives: Lyme disease (LD) is a major public health problem in Europe and the United States, with increasing incidence and not many prevention options. Vaccine hesitancy might be a significant barrier to successful vaccination campaigns having in mind previous vaccine development failures. This study aimed to evaluate the public’s perception of LD vaccination in Poland, assess willingness to vaccinate, and identify factors influencing vaccination attitudes. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among parents of children hospitalized at the University Children’s Hospital in Bialystok, Poland. The survey consisted of 29 questions regarding demographics, LD knowledge, vaccine attitudes, and perceived risks. Data were collected between January and December 2023 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to identify predictors of respondents’ positive vaccination attitudes. Results: A total of 503 valid responses were analyzed. Most respondents (72.4%) showed positive attitudes towards vaccination, while 18.5% were neutral and 9.1% were negative. Trust in health experts emerged as an important predictor of vaccination acceptance (OR 22.84; <i>p</i> < 0.001). More than 80% of participants recognized an LD vaccine as necessary, and 64.21% believed it would reduce their concerns about LD. Willingness to vaccinate was influenced by general positive vaccine attitudes, recognized danger of LD, and belief in the vaccine’s ability to ease fears. Notably, 40.8% of respondents were uncertain about vaccine risks, with this group tending to be younger, less educated, and expressing lower trust in medical professionals. Conclusions: Public perception of LD in Poland indicates a high acceptance of a potential LD vaccine. Still, addressing vaccine hesitancy remains critical, particularly among undecided or neutral respondents. Building trust in healthcare professionals and addressing safety worries are important to increasing future LD vaccine use. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-059b3e809b914002b4fe660c6f830942 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj-art-059b3e809b914002b4fe660c6f8309422025-01-24T13:51:47ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2025-01-011315510.3390/vaccines13010055Barriers and Predictors of Lyme Disease Vaccine Acceptance: A Cross-Sectional Study in PolandDawid Lewandowski0Artur Sulik1Filip Raciborski2Milena Krasnodebska3Joanna Gebarowska4Aleksandra Stalewska5Kacper Toczylowski6Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-274 Bialystok, PolandDepartment of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-274 Bialystok, PolandDepartment of Environmental Hazard Prevention, Allergology and Immunology, Warsaw Medical University, 02-007 Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-274 Bialystok, PolandDepartment of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-274 Bialystok, PolandDepartment of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-274 Bialystok, PolandDepartment of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-274 Bialystok, PolandBackground/Objectives: Lyme disease (LD) is a major public health problem in Europe and the United States, with increasing incidence and not many prevention options. Vaccine hesitancy might be a significant barrier to successful vaccination campaigns having in mind previous vaccine development failures. This study aimed to evaluate the public’s perception of LD vaccination in Poland, assess willingness to vaccinate, and identify factors influencing vaccination attitudes. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among parents of children hospitalized at the University Children’s Hospital in Bialystok, Poland. The survey consisted of 29 questions regarding demographics, LD knowledge, vaccine attitudes, and perceived risks. Data were collected between January and December 2023 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to identify predictors of respondents’ positive vaccination attitudes. Results: A total of 503 valid responses were analyzed. Most respondents (72.4%) showed positive attitudes towards vaccination, while 18.5% were neutral and 9.1% were negative. Trust in health experts emerged as an important predictor of vaccination acceptance (OR 22.84; <i>p</i> < 0.001). More than 80% of participants recognized an LD vaccine as necessary, and 64.21% believed it would reduce their concerns about LD. Willingness to vaccinate was influenced by general positive vaccine attitudes, recognized danger of LD, and belief in the vaccine’s ability to ease fears. Notably, 40.8% of respondents were uncertain about vaccine risks, with this group tending to be younger, less educated, and expressing lower trust in medical professionals. Conclusions: Public perception of LD in Poland indicates a high acceptance of a potential LD vaccine. Still, addressing vaccine hesitancy remains critical, particularly among undecided or neutral respondents. Building trust in healthcare professionals and addressing safety worries are important to increasing future LD vaccine use.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/1/55Lyme diseasevaccine acceptancevaccine hesitancypublic healthtick-borne diseasesvaccination attitudes |
| spellingShingle | Dawid Lewandowski Artur Sulik Filip Raciborski Milena Krasnodebska Joanna Gebarowska Aleksandra Stalewska Kacper Toczylowski Barriers and Predictors of Lyme Disease Vaccine Acceptance: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland Vaccines Lyme disease vaccine acceptance vaccine hesitancy public health tick-borne diseases vaccination attitudes |
| title | Barriers and Predictors of Lyme Disease Vaccine Acceptance: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland |
| title_full | Barriers and Predictors of Lyme Disease Vaccine Acceptance: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland |
| title_fullStr | Barriers and Predictors of Lyme Disease Vaccine Acceptance: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Barriers and Predictors of Lyme Disease Vaccine Acceptance: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland |
| title_short | Barriers and Predictors of Lyme Disease Vaccine Acceptance: A Cross-Sectional Study in Poland |
| title_sort | barriers and predictors of lyme disease vaccine acceptance a cross sectional study in poland |
| topic | Lyme disease vaccine acceptance vaccine hesitancy public health tick-borne diseases vaccination attitudes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/1/55 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dawidlewandowski barriersandpredictorsoflymediseasevaccineacceptanceacrosssectionalstudyinpoland AT artursulik barriersandpredictorsoflymediseasevaccineacceptanceacrosssectionalstudyinpoland AT filipraciborski barriersandpredictorsoflymediseasevaccineacceptanceacrosssectionalstudyinpoland AT milenakrasnodebska barriersandpredictorsoflymediseasevaccineacceptanceacrosssectionalstudyinpoland AT joannagebarowska barriersandpredictorsoflymediseasevaccineacceptanceacrosssectionalstudyinpoland AT aleksandrastalewska barriersandpredictorsoflymediseasevaccineacceptanceacrosssectionalstudyinpoland AT kacpertoczylowski barriersandpredictorsoflymediseasevaccineacceptanceacrosssectionalstudyinpoland |