Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors of Physicians on Vaccine and Anti-vaccination

Introduction: Anti-vaccination movement is an increasing public health problem at present. Healthcare providers play an important role to solve this movement. The knowledge level of healthcare providers about vaccines has an effect on vaccine recommendations, and this affects not only individuals but also public health. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge level and attitudes and behaviors of medical practitioners about vaccines and anti-vaccination. Materials and Methods: This study is single-centered, prospective and cross-sectional. The sample size was calculated with sample size estimation method in simple random sampling from medical practitioners working at University of Health Sciences Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital as of October 2018. Statistical significance was set at p< 0.05. Results: Two hundred and eighty-four medical doctors participated in this study. Sixty-two of the 284 (21.8%) physicians were family practitioners, 51 of 284 (18%) were pediatricians, 51 of 284 (18%) were surgery practitioners and 120 of 284 (42.3%) were from other clinical departments. Thirty-two of the participants (11.3%) were under the assumption that vaccines could cause autism. Five of the participants (1.8%) were under the assumption that the ratio of severe complications after vaccination is 5-10%, and 36 of them (12.7%) were under assumption that this ratio is 1-5%. There were various concerns about the vaccines including the ingredients of the vaccines (77 participants 27.1%), proper storage of the vaccines (35 of participants 12.3%) and production of vthe accines in other countries (90 of participants 31.7%).Two hundered and sixty-one of participants (91.9%) thought that vaccination of children should be legally mandatory. Conclusion: There is a need for regular educational programs on vaccines before and after graduation in order to eliminate the lack of knowledge and concerns of physicians about vaccination.