Evaluation of approaches to childhood routine vaccination practices and parents with vaccine hesitation of family physicians working in central districts of Ankara

Introduction: The vaccine still maintains its importance in terms of protection from infectious diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 3 million people are vaccinated every year and protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. Despite this, there is an increasing state of vaccine hesitation in the world. Vaccine hesitation is a complex global problem that requires constant monitoring. It is stated that even in the United States with high vaccination percentages, %85 of healthcare workers experience at least one family has hesitated about vaccine every year. The multi-factorial and complex causes of vaccine hesitation require a wide range of approaches at the national level: the individual, the vaccine supplier, the health system. In case of vaccine hesitation, healthcare professionals become the most reliable counselor and continue to be effective in the family's child's vaccination decisions. Family physicians have the biggest responsibility for primary vaccination in primary care. Communication of the healthcare professionals with the family about the vaccine, the vaccination approach, the approaches in the presence of vaccine hesitation studies are very limited. Therefore, a group representing family physicians in the center of Ankara, the case of the routine childhood vaccines and vaccine approach of physicians family's hesitate to assess how they followed the lead of this work was done. Method: The family physicians who will work in the central districts of Ankara province and to be included in the study have been determined as simple random stratified. The research is planned as a cross-sectional study. At the end of the research, 598 people agreed to participate in the study (%90 of the sample). In the research, status of family medicine specialist, the duration (year) of the family physician, the number of registered population and 0-24 months of the family physician, participation in vaccination education, participation in vaccination hesitation education, information, attitude and behavior score; scores about the question that can be asked to the family, the frequency of the steps that can be applied in the routine of the vaccine, frequency of what can be done in the encounter with vaccine hesitation were investigated. The analysis was used chi-square, student t test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation test and lineer regression model for investigate to evaluate the effect the variables that are also compatible with the literature that are meaningful in these analyzes, scores about the question that can be asked to the family, the frequency of the steps that can be applied in the routine of the vaccine, frequency of what can be done in the encounter with vaccine hesitation. Results: While the encounter with vaccine hesitation occurred in every district, the most vaccine hesitation occurred in Pursaklar (94.1%) and at least Çankaya (42.9%). According to the linear regression model, scores about the question that can be asked to the family, the frequency of the steps that can be applied in the routine of the vaccine, frequency of what can be done in the encounter with vaccine hesitation have no effect on the sex, age, family physician's specialist, the number of registered population and 0-24 months children. Behavior score affects all three scores and scores increase with increasing behavior score (β = 0,285; 0,346; 0,361, respectively). Family physicians working in districts with higher education levels (Çankaya, Etimesgut, Yenimahalle) have lower scores on the frequency of what can be done in the encounter with vaccine hesitation, but there is no statistical significance in case of influence on the score received in hesitation. The characteristics of the families in the district where the family doctor is located and the behavior of the family doctor can be effective in routine vaccination and vaccine hesitation approaches. In this regard, it may be appropriate to carry out district-specific interventions and to train the family physician on the vaccine approach. Keywords: vaccine hesitacy, communication, family physician