Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Cocuk Enfeksiyon Dergisi, cilt.16, sa.3, 2022 (ESCI)
© 2022 by Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunization Society.Objective: Influenza is a viral infection that causes pandemics just like the COVID-19 infection and has similar clinical features, making differential diagnosis difficult. Although influenza epidemics can be prevented by vaccination, hesitancy about vaccination is the biggest obstacle to preventing influenza epidemics. This study aimed to evaluate pediatricians’ and nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding seasonal influenza vaccination in children during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate the underlying causes of vaccine hesitancy against influenza vaccination. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between February and April 2021. The study sampling consisted 76 pediatricians and 63 pediatric nurses who volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected through survey questionnaires prepared by the researchers. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used for data analysis. Results: In this sample, 52.6% of the pediatricians and 23.8% of the nurses believed that children should be vaccinated against influenza during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although 73.7% of the pediatricians and 33.3% of the pediatric nurses advised pediatric patients to get vaccinated against influenza, they did not get their children vaccinated. The hesitancy reasons included worrying about their children getting infected with COVID-19 in healthcare institutions, distrust in the efficacy of the influenza vaccine, worrying about the possible side effects, influenza vaccines not being included in the national vaccination program, believing that influenza is not a high-risk disease, lack of information about the vaccine, thinking that that influenza vaccine contains harmful substances, and not having time because of busy work schedule. Conclusion: In-service training on influenza vaccination should be organized among pediatricians and nurses to eliminate vaccine-related hesitations. Policy recommendations for the inclusion of influenza vaccines in the national vaccination program are important in terms of preventing influenza-related diseases in children and vaccine hesitations seen by healthcare professionals.