Attitudes toward vaccination in the Croatian adult population

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized vaccine hesitancy as one of the major threats to global health. Attitudes toward vaccination are important predictors of vaccination behaviour. This study aimed to investigate attitudes toward vaccination and factors which influence them in the Croatian adult population. METHODS: This cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted from June 2020 to December 2020 in the convenience sample of adults from Split-Dalmatia County in the primary healthcare setting. The Vaccination Attitudes Examination Scale (VAX) was used to assess attitudes toward vaccination. The higher scores on the VAX scale reflect more negative attitudes toward vaccination. RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 632 subjects (52.7% males and 47.3% females). The median age of all subjects was 38.0 (interquartile range 29.0 - 48.0) years. The median VAX scale score was 42.0 (interquartile range 35.0-50.0). The more negative attitudes towards vaccination were found in females (p = 0.015), subjects aged 25-44 years (p = 0.026) and subjects living in suburban areas (p = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS: The Croatian adult population displayed quite negative attitudes toward vaccination. The study showed that some sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, age group and place of living had influenced attitudes towards vaccination in the studied population. Bearing in mind that attitudes are closely connected with the practices the development of public health programs created to promote vaccination should take into consideration the sociodemographic characteristics of the population for which they are intended. KEY MESSAGES: • It is highly important to improve attitudes towards vaccination in the Croatian adult population. • Understanding the factors that influence attitudes towards vaccination is crucial to design an appropriate public health program that promotes vaccination in selected population groups.