The relationship between parents' vaccine literacy level and vaccination attitudes

Objective:: This study aimed to determine the relationship between parents' vaccine literacy levels and their attitudes toward vaccination. Material and Method: This study was conducted as a descriptive and correlational research. This study was conducted with 403 parents who met the inclusion criteria and applied to the pediatric outpatient clinics of Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University Mengücek Gazi Training and Research Hospital between October 2023 and October 2024. Data were collected using the "Personal Information Form," the "Vaccine Literacy Scale," and the "Vaccine Attitudes Scale." Pearson Correlation Analysis was applied to the data for relational inferences, and the normality assumptions of the data were calculated using the "Kurtosis" and "Skewness" coefficients (±2). Results: Among the parents who participated in the study, 55.3% were between the ages of 25-34, 60.5% were mothers of children, and 42.2% were high school graduates. It was determined that the parents scored 1.87±0.76 in the Functional Health Literacy sub-dimension, 2.84±0.75 in the Communicative Health Literacy sub-dimension and 3.01±0.78 in the Critical Health Literacy sub-dimension, and 20.63±3.70 in the total Vaccine Attitude Scale. It was determined that there was a positive, low-level and statistically significant relationship between the Vaccination Attitude Scale score of the parents and the Functional Health Literacy sub-dimension score, and a negative, low-level and statistically significant relationship between the Communicative Health Literacy sub-dimension score (p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, it was determined that as the functional health literacy level decreased, the negative attitudes of the parents towards vaccination also increased, and as the communicative health literacy level increased, the negative attitudes of individuals towards vaccination decreased. In line with these results, nurses should assume an active role in health services at all levels in the processes of increasing vaccine literacy, reducing negative attitudes towards vaccination and ensuring that individuals have access to correct information.