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Public opinion on childhood immunisations in Iceland
- Source :
- Vaccine. 33:7211-7216
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2015.
-
Abstract
- Introduction In recent years, vaccine preventable diseases such as measles and pertussis have been re-emerging in Western countries, maybe because of decreasing participation in childhood vaccination programs in some countries. There is clear evidence for vaccine efficacy and the risk of adverse effects is low. This needs to be communicated to the general public. The aim of the study was to evaluate the public opinion on childhood vaccinations in Iceland. Materials and methods An internet based study was used to evaluate the opinion on childhood immunisations in Iceland. The cohort was divided in three groups: (a) general public (b) employees of the University Hospital Iceland and (c) employees (teachers and staff) of the University of Iceland. The cohorts could be stratified according to age, gender, education, household income, parenthood and residency. Results Responses were received from 5584 individuals (53% response rate). When asked about childhood vaccinations in the first and second year of life, approximately 95% of participants were “positive” or “very positive”, approximately 1% were “negative” or “very negative”. When participants were asked whether they would have their child immunized according to the Icelandic childhood vaccination schedule, 96% were “positive” or “very positive”, 1.2% were “negative” or “very negative”. Similarly, 92% trust Icelandic Health authorities to decide on childhood vaccination schedule, 2.3% did not. In total, 9.3% “rather” or “strongly” agreed to the statement “I fear that vaccinations can cause severe adverse effects”, 17.5% were undecided and 66.9% “disagreed” or “strongly disagreed”. Individuals with higher education were more likely to disagree with this statement (OR = 1.45, CI95 = 1.29–1.64, p p = 0.001). Conclusion This study shows a very positive attitude towards vaccinations raising expectations for an ongoing success in preventing preventable communicable diseases in childhood in Iceland.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Pediatrics
medicine.medical_specialty
Adolescent
Iceland
Measles
Young Adult
Surveys and Questionnaires
medicine
Humans
Young adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Response rate (survey)
Internet
General Veterinary
General Immunology and Microbiology
Immunization Programs
business.industry
Data Collection
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Middle Aged
Vaccine efficacy
medicine.disease
Vaccination
Infectious Diseases
Public Opinion
Cohort
Molecular Medicine
Household income
Female
Immunization
Vaccine-preventable diseases
business
Demography
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 0264410X
- Volume :
- 33
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Vaccine
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....5fb12da974f4734e41b3f80c018ed822