“What does affect decision-making of Arab parents living in Italy get their children vaccinated?”

Abstract

Child immunization is among the top disease prevention measures that have been utilized in ensuring specific ailments are well managed. Immunization was and continues to be a global approach in dealing with certain conditions, which include measles, polio, tetanus, hepatitis, and diphtheria, among others. In most nations across the world, it is a parent’s choice whether their child is immunized, receives partial immunization, or fails to get any form of vaccination. The view of a parent determines whether a child will receive a vaccination and which vaccination the child is exposed to at certain ages. It’s, therefore, vital to review the factors that may affect the decision-making process of a parent regarding their child's vaccination. A questionnaire was handed to Arab parents living in Italy. Parents were required to fill their questionnaires with an honest review of the use of vaccines. Data analysis includes reviewing answers to the questions, also with statistical analyses including t-test, ANOVA, and chi-square analysis. The analysis tried to put into perspective the views of parents. For instance, an analysis on different questions shows that 63% of the respondents are not hesitant about childhood vaccines, most parents are not entirely sure about the vaccines causing a side effect to their children, and most parents are not sure about the safety of all the childhood vaccines. Findings can be applied by healthcare professionals and governments to reach out to parents and offer appropriate information about child vaccination, its importance and encourage more parents to take their children for vaccination.