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Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Pediatricians About COVID-19 Vaccination to Children
Gizem Kara Elitok1, Aybike Koc1, Sebnem Apaydin1
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Health Sciences Türkiye, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye.
Insights
Pediatricians mostly recommend COVID-19 vaccination for children, but knowledge and safety concerns influence recommendations. Educational initiatives for pediatricians can boost child vaccination rates against COVID-19.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Vaccinology
Background:
- High vaccination rates are crucial for controlling infectious diseases like coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
- Understanding healthcare providers' perspectives is key to improving vaccine uptake in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess pediatricians' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding COVID-19 vaccination for children.
- To identify factors influencing pediatricians' recommendations for childhood COVID-19 vaccination.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive, cross-sectional, prospective study was conducted with 350 pediatricians.
- Data were collected using a 21-question survey on sociodemographics, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors via Google Forms.
- The study period was from September 20, 2022, to November 30, 2022.
Main Results:
- 65.7% of pediatricians recommended COVID-19 vaccination for all children; 27.7% recommended it for at-risk children only.
- Key reasons for not recommending the vaccine included insufficient clinical research (56.7%) and concerns about long-term effects (50%).
- Pediatricians who perceived the COVID-19 vaccine as safe were more likely to recommend it (p<0.001), and higher knowledge levels correlated with increased recommendations (p<0.001).
Conclusions:
- Pediatricians generally recommend COVID-19 vaccination for children, with vaccine safety and knowledge being significant influencing factors.
- Targeted educational programs for pediatricians are recommended to enhance their knowledge and confidence, thereby increasing COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children.
- Addressing concerns about vaccine safety and research is essential for improving pediatric COVID-19 vaccination rates.
Objectives:
Achieving high vaccination rates is very important in the prevention of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as in other infectious diseases. This study aimed to evaluate pediatricians' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours about COVID-19 vaccination of children.
Methods:
Our single-center, descriptive, cross-sectional, prospective study was conducted between September 20, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The sample consisted of 350 physicians who agreed to fill out the questionnaire voluntarily. Participants were asked 21 questions about their sociodemographic data, knowledge about COVID-19 vaccination of children, attitudes and behaviours via Google Forms.
Results:
A total of 350 pediatricians, 72.6% of whom were women, participated in our study. 51.4% of the participants were working in a Training and Research Hospital, and 99.1% had received COVID-19 vaccination themselves. While 65.7% (n=230) of pediatricians recommended COVID-19 vaccination for all children, 27.7% (n=97) recommended it only for children in the risk group, and 6.6% (n=23) did not recommend COVID-19 vaccination for children. The most common reasons why pediatricians did not recommend the vaccine to all children were; 56.7% lack of sufficient clinical research on vaccination in children, 50% concerns about the long-term effects of the vaccine, 27.5% vaccine-related side effects. The most risk groups for which participants recommended vaccination were asthma (chronic lung disease) 84.6%, diabetes mellitus 72%, and immunodeficiency 69.7%. 68.9% of pediatricians knew that COVID-19 vaccine was used for children aged 12 years and older in Türkiye, and 60.9% thought that COVID-19 vaccine was safe for children. Those who thought that COVID-19 vaccine was safe for children were more likely to recommend the vaccine to children (p<0.001). When the answers given to the knowledge questions were analyzed, it was found that the knowledge level of those who did not recommend vaccination to children was lower than the others (p<0.001).
Conclusion:
In the present study, pediatricians mostly recommend COVID-19 vaccine to children. The vaccine safety and the level of knowledge about COVID-19 vaccine are effective factors in recommending the vaccine. Therefore, we conclude that trainings to be organized for pediatricians about COVID-19 vaccine will increase the rate of recommending COVID-19 vaccine to children.
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