Vaccine hesitancy and refusal among parents: An international ID-IRI survey

Introduction:Although vaccines are the safest and most effective means to prevent and control infectious diseases, the increasing rate of vaccine hesitancy and refusal (VHR) has become a worldwide concern. We aimed to find opinions of parents on vaccinating their children and contribute to available literature in order to support the fight against vaccine refusal by investigating the reasons for VHR on a global scale.Methodology:In this international cross-sectional multicenter study conducted by the Infectious Diseases International Research Initiative (ID-IRI), a questionnaire consisting of 20 questions was used to determine parents' attitudes towards vaccination of their children.Results:Four thousand and twenty-nine (4,029) parents were included in the study and 2,863 (78.1%) were females. The overall VHR rate of the parents was found to be 13.7%. Nineteen-point three percent (19.3%) of the parents did not fully comply with the vaccination programs. The VHR rate was higher in high-income (HI) countries. Our study has shown that parents with disabled children and immunocompromised children, with low education levels, and those who use social media networks as sources of information for childhood immunizations had higher VHR rates (p < 0.05 for all).Conclusions:Seemingly all factors leading to VHR are related to training of the community and the sources of training. Thus, it is necessary to develop strategies at a global level and provide reliable knowledge to combat VHR.Keywords:Vaccine hesitancy; parents; vaccine refusal.Copyright (c) 2022 Yakup Cag, Mohammad Emad al Madadha, Handan Ankarali, Yasemin Cag, Kubra Demir Onder, Aysegul Seremet-Keskin, Filiz Kizilates, Rok Civljak, Ghaydaa Shehata, Handan Alay, Sevil Alkan-Ceviker, Fatma Yilmaz-Karadag, Meliha Cagla-Sonmezer, Manar Ezzelarab Ramadan, Dumitru Irina Magdelena, Ljiljana Betica Radic, Jurica Arapovic, Fatma Kesmez-Can, Nagwa Mostafa El-Sayed, Oladapo Babatunde Campbell, Gulden Eser-Karlidag, Reham Khedr, Mehmet Emirhan Isik, Michael Mihailov Petrov, Roxana Cernat, Umran Erturk, Yesim Uygun-Kizmaz, Eva Huljev, Fatma Amer, Mehmet Resat Ceylan, Andrea Marino, Gulnur Kul, Tuba Damar-Cakirca, Yara Mohsen Khalaf, Arzu Cennet Isik, Olumuyiwa Elijah Ariyo, Ismail Necati Hakyemez, Rezaul Karim Ripon, Abdorrahim Afkhamzadeh, Emine Kubra Dindar-Demiray, Osasona Oluwadamilola Gideon, Maya Belitova, Mustafa Altindis, Rehab El-Sokkary, Recep Tekin, Mohammed Ahmed Garout, Joanna Zajkowska, Farhan Fazal, Muhammed Bekcibasi, Mirsada Hukic, Summiya Nizamuddin, Serkan Surme, Ricardo Fernandez, Amani El-Kholy, Nasim Akhtar, Saadia Ijaz, Andrea Cortegiani, Meliha Meric-Koc, Hakan Hasman, Agah Victor Maduka, Jehan Ali ElKholy, Sema Sari, Mumtaz Ali Khan, Yasemin Akin, Sukran Kose, Hakan Erdem.