Reasons for vaccine refuse in Adana and opinions about vaccines

Aim: Although vaccines have a long history and much has been said about their efficacy, benefits and safety, they have become the focus of an increasing debate, especially recently. This issue, which is seen as an important public health problem and where discussions are ongoing, should be tried to be better understood with new studies. With this study, it is aimed to better understand the causes of the vaccination rejection in the world and in our country, to evaluate the thoughts about vaccines and to throw fresh light on the steps to be taken in this field with the information obtained as a result. Material and Method: The parents who rejected to vaccinate their children between 2017 and 2018 in Adana City centre were included as 'Vaccine rejection group' and a sample from the parents who vaccinated their children in the same time period in Adana City centre was included as 'Control group' in this study. There were 61 parents in the Parental refusal of childhood vaccines group and 148 parents in the Control group. Questionnaire were applied to both groups, including some common questions, questioning socio-demographic data and thoughts on vaccines. Results: Maternal parents constitute 84,7% of the participants. 80,3% of children, whose parents have rejected the vaccination, have been vaccinated before. The most common cause of vaccine rejection from the point of view of parents was determined to be uncertain about the vaccines / to have anxiety about side effects (89,9%). 27,4% of the parents in the control group stated that the negative news about the vaccines in the media may affect their opinion. Conclusion: Vaccine rejection does not depend on a single reason, on the contrary, it is a complex condition that is affected by many factors. Dealing with hesitations about vaccines in our country is important not only for families who refuse vaccines, but also for all other individuals who are vaccinated.