fbpx Change in attitudes towards vaccination after H1N1 pandemic | Science in the net

Change in attitudes towards vaccination after H1N1 pandemic

Primary tabs

Read time: 2 mins

From TELLME website

As recognized by many experts, the ongoing decline of public confidence in vaccines is one of the main challenges for public health management. A recent paper published on Eurosurveillance shows that unfavorable attitudes towards vaccination dramatically increased from 8.5% in 2000 to 38.2% in 2010 in France.

The study investigated the potential impact of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic on attitudes towards vaccination among people living in metropolitan France. It was based on data from the last three waves (2000, 2005, 2010) of the “Health Barometer”, a telephone survey on health perceptions, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, which was targeted at the general population. The age interval of the sample was 12 to 75 years (15 to 85 years in 2010).

It is interesting to note that beyond the increase in negative attitudes observed in 2009 to 2010, half of the respondents who endorsed these attitudes spontaneously mentioned their opposition to the influenza A(H1N1) vaccine. Such a shift demonstrates that many people who accept vaccines may change their mind and that this episode may have undermined public confidence in health authorities and vaccination.

Another interesting result is that sociodemographic profile associated with unfavorable attitudes towards vaccination in general significantly changed in 2009/10: influenza A(H1N1) vaccination acceptance was correlated with high educational level, high socioeconomic status and living in a household with a child under the age of five years. This result is in contrast with some previous studies, which found that highly educated parents were prone to refuse vaccination for their children, even if these parents did not oppose vaccination in general. Such disparities may be due to the fact that people with lower education are much less likely to use information material from official authorities, as some studies demonstrated.

Articoli correlati

Scienza in rete è un giornale senza pubblicità e aperto a tutti per garantire l’indipendenza dell’informazione e il diritto universale alla cittadinanza scientifica. Contribuisci a dar voce alla ricerca sostenendo Scienza in rete. In questo modo, potrai entrare a far parte della nostra comunità e condividere il nostro percorso. Clicca sul pulsante e scegli liberamente quanto donare! Anche una piccola somma è importante. Se vuoi fare una donazione ricorrente, ci consenti di programmare meglio il nostro lavoro e resti comunque libero di interromperla quando credi.


prossimo articolo

Approved the law for the restoration of European nature, but it's a half victory

On November 9, the European Council approved the Nature Restoration Law, a regulation for the restoration of ecosystems. A much-hoped-for victory that leaves a bitter taste: the adopted regulation emerges from more than a year of negotiations that have significantly weakened it in substance. The risk is that the objectives lose their concreteness in implementation.

Crediti foto Boris Smokrovic su Unsplash

On November 9, the European Council, the body defining the EU's policy directions, approved the Nature Restoration Law, one of the four main pillars of the European biodiversity strategy for 2030. A great achievement, yet leaving a bit of bitterness, considering the approved regulation was significantly weakened compared to the original.