Abstract:

Purpose: The aim of this study was to reveal the reasons of vaccine rejection and the opinions about vaccines that are increasing in the world and in our country. Materials and Methods: Families who refused vaccines for childhood vaccinations from centraldistrict of Adana and families who had their children vaccinated as a control group were identified. The sample group of our study consisted of 61 parents in the vaccine rejection group and 148 parents in the control group (209 participants in total) who agreed to vaccinate their children. Results: 49 (80.3%) of the children who were rejected were vaccinated before. 36 of 61 families in the vaccine rejection group have at least one parent (59%) with a university degree, while there are no parents with a high school or higher degree (16.4%) in 10 families. While 56 of the families in the control group have at least one parent with a university degree (37.8%). the most common reason for the rejection of vaccines in terms of parents was determined to be 96.7% (n=59) of not having confidence in vaccines / having anxiety about their side effects. 27.4% of the parents in the control group stated that negative news about vaccines in the media might affect their opinion. Conclusion: Vaccine rejection is not due to a single cause, but a complex condition that is affected by many factors. In Turkey, eliminating hesitations about vaccines is important not only for families who refuse vaccines, but also for all other individuals who hesitate to vaccinate.