Parental Attitudes, Motivators and Barriers Toward Children’s Vaccination in Poland: A Scoping Review

Background: Vaccination is one of the most effective ways of protecting individuals against serious infectious diseases and their fatal consequences. Objectives: The aim of this scoping review was to synthesize data on parental attitudes toward vaccination and identify factors influencing the motiva...

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Main Authors: Krystyna Szalast, Grzegorz Józef Nowicki, Mariola Pietrzak, Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas, Aleksander Biesiada, Elżbieta Grochans, Barbara Ślusarska
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Vaccines
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/1/41
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author Krystyna Szalast
Grzegorz Józef Nowicki
Mariola Pietrzak
Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas
Aleksander Biesiada
Elżbieta Grochans
Barbara Ślusarska
author_facet Krystyna Szalast
Grzegorz Józef Nowicki
Mariola Pietrzak
Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas
Aleksander Biesiada
Elżbieta Grochans
Barbara Ślusarska
author_sort Krystyna Szalast
collection DOAJ
description Background: Vaccination is one of the most effective ways of protecting individuals against serious infectious diseases and their fatal consequences. Objectives: The aim of this scoping review was to synthesize data on parental attitudes toward vaccination and identify factors influencing the motivators and barriers to children’s vaccination based on Polish studies. Methods: The scoping review process and reporting were based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScRs) checklist. In the period between January 2014 and July 2024, the following databases were searched for publications: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Ebsco, and Scholar Google. Results: A total of 1531 potentially relevant records were reviewed, and 30 original publications from research samples collected in Poland were selected. According to the findings, vaccination rates varied between 100% and 70%, with parental acceptance levels for mandatory vaccination ranging from 99% to 65%. Parents most commonly cited the physician, the nurse, and the Internet as their primary sources of vaccination-related information. Moreover, parental primary motivators for vaccinating their children were prevention against infectious diseases, the opinion that vaccines are safe, and the belief that childhood vaccination is right and effective. The major barriers to vaccination were fear of vaccine side effects and the belief that vaccines are ineffective. Parents that were better educated, were of younger age, lived in cities, and had a higher income were much more likely to vaccinate their children. Conclusions: Understanding parental attitudes toward vaccination may help develop an educational program aimed at combating misinformation and increasing childhood vaccination coverage rates.
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spelling doaj-art-122817d30b644aed9acb5a347fd28b7d2025-01-24T13:51:45ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2025-01-011314110.3390/vaccines13010041Parental Attitudes, Motivators and Barriers Toward Children’s Vaccination in Poland: A Scoping ReviewKrystyna Szalast0Grzegorz Józef Nowicki1Mariola Pietrzak2Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas3Aleksander Biesiada4Elżbieta Grochans5Barbara Ślusarska6Department of Family and Geriatric Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Staszica 6 Str., PL-20-081 Lublin, PolandDepartment of Family and Geriatric Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Staszica 6 Str., PL-20-081 Lublin, PolandPolish Society of Family Medicine, Syrokomli 1 Str., PL-51-141 Wrocław, PolandPolish Society of Family Medicine, Syrokomli 1 Str., PL-51-141 Wrocław, PolandPolish Society of Family Medicine, Syrokomli 1 Str., PL-51-141 Wrocław, PolandDepartment of Nursing, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Żołnierska 48 Str., PL-71-210 Szczecin, PolandDepartment of Family and Geriatric Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Staszica 6 Str., PL-20-081 Lublin, PolandBackground: Vaccination is one of the most effective ways of protecting individuals against serious infectious diseases and their fatal consequences. Objectives: The aim of this scoping review was to synthesize data on parental attitudes toward vaccination and identify factors influencing the motivators and barriers to children’s vaccination based on Polish studies. Methods: The scoping review process and reporting were based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScRs) checklist. In the period between January 2014 and July 2024, the following databases were searched for publications: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Ebsco, and Scholar Google. Results: A total of 1531 potentially relevant records were reviewed, and 30 original publications from research samples collected in Poland were selected. According to the findings, vaccination rates varied between 100% and 70%, with parental acceptance levels for mandatory vaccination ranging from 99% to 65%. Parents most commonly cited the physician, the nurse, and the Internet as their primary sources of vaccination-related information. Moreover, parental primary motivators for vaccinating their children were prevention against infectious diseases, the opinion that vaccines are safe, and the belief that childhood vaccination is right and effective. The major barriers to vaccination were fear of vaccine side effects and the belief that vaccines are ineffective. Parents that were better educated, were of younger age, lived in cities, and had a higher income were much more likely to vaccinate their children. Conclusions: Understanding parental attitudes toward vaccination may help develop an educational program aimed at combating misinformation and increasing childhood vaccination coverage rates.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/1/41vaccinationchild vaccinationvaccine refusalvaccine hesitancyparentPoland
spellingShingle Krystyna Szalast
Grzegorz Józef Nowicki
Mariola Pietrzak
Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas
Aleksander Biesiada
Elżbieta Grochans
Barbara Ślusarska
Parental Attitudes, Motivators and Barriers Toward Children’s Vaccination in Poland: A Scoping Review
Vaccines
vaccination
child vaccination
vaccine refusal
vaccine hesitancy
parent
Poland
title Parental Attitudes, Motivators and Barriers Toward Children’s Vaccination in Poland: A Scoping Review
title_full Parental Attitudes, Motivators and Barriers Toward Children’s Vaccination in Poland: A Scoping Review
title_fullStr Parental Attitudes, Motivators and Barriers Toward Children’s Vaccination in Poland: A Scoping Review
title_full_unstemmed Parental Attitudes, Motivators and Barriers Toward Children’s Vaccination in Poland: A Scoping Review
title_short Parental Attitudes, Motivators and Barriers Toward Children’s Vaccination in Poland: A Scoping Review
title_sort parental attitudes motivators and barriers toward children s vaccination in poland a scoping review
topic vaccination
child vaccination
vaccine refusal
vaccine hesitancy
parent
Poland
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/1/41
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