1. Knowledge and attitudes of pregnant women on maternal immunization against COVID-19 in Croatia.
- Author
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Tatarević, Tina, Tkalčec, Iva, Stranić, Dorian, Tešović, Goran, and Matijević, Ratko
- Subjects
VACCINATION ,COVID-19 ,IMMUNIZATION ,ATTITUDE (Psychology) ,COVID-19 vaccines ,CROSS-sectional method ,PREGNANT women ,HEALTH literacy ,PEARSON correlation (Statistics) ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,CHI-squared test ,DATA analysis software ,PREGNANCY - Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess pregnant women's knowledge and attitudes regarding maternal COVID-19 immunization during pregnancy. A cross-sectional study was performed in two teaching hospitals between May and October 2021 in Zagreb, Croatia. During antenatal clinic visit pregnant women were approached and asked to fill out a predesigned questionnaire about their knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. Collected data was later analyzed. A total of 430 women participated in the study. Only 16% of women expressed their willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if offered, despite that 71% of them believe that COVID-19 might be a serious illness in pregnant women. The most important obstacle in having better acceptance of the vaccines is in the assumption that the vaccines are not safe for pregnant women (73%) or the fetus (75%), or that the vaccines are not effective (41%). The relationship exists between acceptance of vaccination in general and willingness to get other vaccines in pregnancy and readiness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in pregnancy. Only one out of 55 women who were not adherent to the current vaccination recommendations in Croatia would accept the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy if offered. 21 (5%) women stated that vaccination against influenza and pertussis during pregnancy is necessary and 13 (62%) of them would get vaccinated against COVID-19 if offered. This study showed that the crucial reasons for refusing vaccination against COVID-19 among pregnant women in Croatia are the concerns about the vaccines' effectiveness and safety. All healthcare providers should put more effort into education of pregnant women on risks of COVID-19, as well as on the benefits and safety of the vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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