The effect of parents' health news perceptions on vaccine suspect

The Effect of Parents' Health News Perceptions on Vaccıne Suspect Objective: This study was carried out to investigate the effect of parents' perceptions of health news on vaccine hesitancy. Methods: This research was carried out between 20 July 2021 and 20 February 2022. It was carried out with 187 parents with babies between 0-24 months who lived in Elazığ city center and registered in Abdullahpaşa Family Health Center No. 1, Ataşehir Family Health Center No. 1, and Rüstempaşa Family Health Center No. 1; the parents were determined through the drawing of lots according to random sampling. The research data were collected through a three-part questionnaire. In this form, the questionnaire denoting the sociodemographic characteristics of the parents, the "Health News Perceptions Scale" and a form consisting of vaccine hesitancy questions were included. The research data were analyzed by ANOVA, Student's t-test, Cronbach alfa, correlation, and regression analysis, as well as descriptive statistical methods. Results: Women were 81.3% of the participants. The average age of the parents was 29.89±5.25 years. The average score of parents' health news perception was 79.42±10.94. Ninety percent of parents stated that vaccines are safe for their children. Ninety-seven percent of parents regularly vaccinate their children. The rate of those who stated that they did not hesitate about the vaccination was 72.7%. As a reason for hesitation, confronting negative news about vaccines and the idea that vaccines are not useful are in the first place. Conclusions: There was no significant relationship between parents' health news perceptions and vaccine hesitancy. Keywords: Vaccine hesitancy, parent, media, health news perceptions