The effect of individual-group and contextual effects on vaccination hesitancy in parents' vacci̇ne acceptance in child vaccinations

This study aims to examine the effects of e-health literacy level and distrust in healthcare systems on vaccine hesitancy. While e-health literacy neferse to individuals' ability to access, understand and use health information via the internet, distrust in healthcare systems describes individuals' doubts and concerns about healthcare institutions, healthcare services and healthcare providers. In this context, our study aims to understand the role of e-health literacy and the level of distrust in health systems on vaccine hesitancy by evaluating their potential interactions and to offer solutions from a health perspective. This study is a descriptive, cross-sectional analytical type study. The population of the research consists of parents aged 18 and over,with children under the age of five attending kindergarten in the central district of Isparta. A total of 523 parents were included in the study. As a data collection tool during the data collection phase of the study; Along with the Sociodemographic Information Form created by the researcher, the questions included in the E-Health Literacy Scale, the Distrust in Health Systems Scale and the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale in Parents of Children Under Five Years of Age were asked. Data were analyzed with the IBM SPSS 29.0 (IBM Corp. Released 2022. IBM SPSS Statistics for Macintosh, Version 29.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) package program. In the study, the statistical significance level was accepted as p<0.05. 65.2% (n=341) of the parents participating in the study were female and 34.8% (n=182) were male. In the research group, the youngest age was 21 and the oldest was 55, and the mean and standard deviation of the age was 33.92 ± 5.30. A negative and statistically significant relationship was detected between the e-Health Literacy Scale and the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale in Parents of Children Under Five. A positive and statistically significant difference was detected between the Distrust in Health Systems scale and the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale in Parents of Children Under Five. According to the results of the study, low e-health literacy levels and distrust in health systems are the predictive reasons for vaccine hesitancy. In order to reduce vaccine hesitancy, which is a serious health threat today, there is a need to increase parents' e-health literacy levels and increase their trust in the health system.