Chiara Cadeddu1, Signe Daugbjerg2, Walter Ricciardi3, Aldo Rosano4. 1. Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: chiara.cadeddu@unicatt.it. 2. Alta Scuola di Economia e Management Sanitario (ALTEMS), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy. 3. Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy. 4. Unit of Statistics, National Institute for Public Policies Analysis (INAPP), Corso d'Italia 33, 00198 Rome, Italy.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In 2017 the Italian government introduced compulsory vaccination for Italian school children for ten diseases, in response to an alarmingly decrease in coverage and measles outbreak. A hot social debate arose around the issue of the law. Studies on the opinion of Italians on this topic are rare, so we investigated the socio-cultural profile of Italians about beliefs towards vaccination. METHODS: Data were extracted from the Italian section of the European Social Survey (ESS), conducted by the Italian National Institute for Public Policies Analysis during 2017. The main outcome assessed was the opinion about the supposed harmfulness of vaccines. We analysed the association between the outcome and a selected group of socio-cultural characteristics, with a specific interest in examining the interaction between our main outcome and the perceived trust in the scientific community in regards to vaccines. A principal component analysis was then performed for determining the socio-cultural profile of respondents. RESULTS: Among the 2,626 subjects interviewed face to face, 19% believed that vaccines were harmful and 10% did not have trust in the scientific community in regards to vaccines. Out of the respondents who believed in the harmfulness of vaccines, 29% neither had trust in the scientific community. Principal Component Analysis suggested that this group (Anti-vax/science sceptic) was characterised by low participation in political and cultural life, being male, older of age and politically oriented towards the right. People agreeing about harmfulness of vaccines are mostly males, have a lower education level, poor attendance in political and cultural life and are politically oriented to the right. CONCLUSIONS: The ESS survey is unique in its capacity to deal with emerging themes of the social debates. Results paint a picture of the opinions of Italians on vaccines. This profile may be useful for policymakers to design targeted vaccination campaigns and to intervene more efficaciously in the public debate.
BACKGROUND: In 2017 the Italian government introduced compulsory vaccination for Italian school children for ten diseases, in response to an alarmingly decrease in coverage and measles outbreak. A hot social debate arose around the issue of the law. Studies on the opinion of Italians on this topic are rare, so we investigated the socio-cultural profile of Italians about beliefs towards vaccination. METHODS: Data were extracted from the Italian section of the European Social Survey (ESS), conducted by the Italian National Institute for Public Policies Analysis during 2017. The main outcome assessed was the opinion about the supposed harmfulness of vaccines. We analysed the association between the outcome and a selected group of socio-cultural characteristics, with a specific interest in examining the interaction between our main outcome and the perceived trust in the scientific community in regards to vaccines. A principal component analysis was then performed for determining the socio-cultural profile of respondents. RESULTS: Among the 2,626 subjects interviewed face to face, 19% believed that vaccines were harmful and 10% did not have trust in the scientific community in regards to vaccines. Out of the respondents who believed in the harmfulness of vaccines, 29% neither had trust in the scientific community. Principal Component Analysis suggested that this group (Anti-vax/science sceptic) was characterised by low participation in political and cultural life, being male, older of age and politically oriented towards the right. People agreeing about harmfulness of vaccines are mostly males, have a lower education level, poor attendance in political and cultural life and are politically oriented to the right. CONCLUSIONS: The ESS survey is unique in its capacity to deal with emerging themes of the social debates. Results paint a picture of the opinions of Italians on vaccines. This profile may be useful for policymakers to design targeted vaccination campaigns and to intervene more efficaciously in the public debate.
Authors: Chiara Cadeddu; Luca Regazzi; Guglielmo Bonaccorsi; Aldo Rosano; Brigid Unim; Robert Griebler; Thomas Link; Paola De Castro; Roberto D'Elia; Valeria Mastrilli; Luigi Palmieri Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-04-07 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Nadia Rania; Ilaria Coppola; Marta Brucci; Francesca Lagomarsino Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-05-18 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Stefania Bruno; Lorenza Nachira; Leonardo Villani; Viria Beccia; Andrea Di Pilla; Domenico Pascucci; Gianluigi Quaranta; Brigida Carducci; Antonietta Spadea; Gianfranco Damiani; Antonio Lanzone; Bruno Federico; Patrizia Laurenti Journal: Front Public Health Date: 2022-08-04