Parents' Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Vaccinating Their Children

Purpose: To identify and evaluate the factors that influence parents' attitudes towards vaccination.

Objectives:

1. To assess parents' level of knowledge about vaccines
2. To assess parents' attitudes and behavior regarding vaccine administration.
3. To observe whether there is a link between various socio-demographic factors and their knowledge about vaccines.
4. To assess the relationship and communication between doctors and parents.
5. To evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents' trust in vaccines.

Method Distribution of questionnaires to parents of patients under 18 years of age admitted in the Emergency Children's Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Paediatrics Clinic III. Collection of clinical data by applying questionnaires completed voluntarily by parents

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Vaccine Hesitancy
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: questionnaire application

Detailed Description

Parents' knowledge and attitudes towards vaccinating their children

Introduction Vaccines administered in childhood save 2-3 million lives globally each year. They have contributed substantially to the decline in infant morbidity and mortality rates over time and represent the most cost-effective method of reducing childhood illness.

A high vaccination rate among the population protects both those who have received the vaccine and those who have not, through the phenomenon of herd immunity. Maintaining protection plays an important role in the development of the paediatric population. Early childhood infections can affect the growth and development of children, impacting the health and cognitive abilities of future adults. Although vaccines reduce morbidity and mortality, many parents do not vaccinate their children. In developing countries, the main causes of non-vaccination are low socio-economic status, poor parental education and limited access to medical services. On the other hand, in more developed countries, parents, despite having easy access to vaccines and information, choose not to vaccinate their children.

In order to increase vaccination rates, it is necessary to understand where parents' beliefs come from. Parents' refusal to vaccinate their children has been associated with: the costs involved in the vaccination process, fear of adverse effects, both immediate and long-term, the belief that vaccines are ineffective, and various attitudes. These include: lack of trust in the state authorities responsible for implementing vaccination programmes, religious conflicts, and the idea of over stimulating the child's immune system with "too many vaccines".

Recently, a decisive factor has emerged that influences parents' opinions: social media. Studies conducted to date have shown the impact of anti-vaccine content posted online on the decline in vaccination rates.

Hypothesis: The decline in vaccination rates among the paediatric population is occurring in both developed countries and low socio-economic environments, with parental attitudes being the main decisive factor.

Purpose: To identify and evaluate the factors that influence parents' attitudes towards vaccination.

Objectives:

1. To assess parents' level of knowledge about vaccines
2. To assess parents' attitudes and behavior regarding vaccine administration.
3. To observe whether there is a link between various socio-demographic factors and their knowledge about vaccines.
4. To assess the relationship and communication between doctors and parents.
5. To evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents' trust in vaccines.

Research area: research into parents' attitudes and knowledge about vaccines and their interaction with healthcare professionals.

Study type: descriptive, cross-sectional, representative sample study. Target population: parents of children under 18 years of age evaluated at the Emergency Children's Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Paediatrics Clinic III, between January- Sept 2026.

Representative sample data collection

Materials and methods:

Distribution of questionnaires to parents of patients under 18 years of age admitted in the Emergency Children's Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Paediatrics Clinic III. Collection of clinical data by applying questionnaires completed voluntarily by parents. By completing the informed consent form, parents gave their consent to participate in this study.

Clinical data to be recorded: gender, age, place of residence, level of education, profession, age of children, vaccination status of parents and children. Collection of data on: parents' knowledge and attitudes towards vaccines, the doctor-parent relationship and parents' level of trust in doctors, and knowledge about infections. Distribution of questionnaires to family doctors and paediatricians to assess the communication relationship between doctors and parents in the context of vaccines.

Descriptive statistics: Data will be stored in accordance with legal provisions for the protection of patients' identity and personal data. Statistical analysis of the data will be performed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS.

The results and conclusions will be disseminated through the publication of articles in scientific journals.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 200
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Valentina Sas; Phone Number: +40740139979; Email: sas.valentina@umfcluj.ro

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

- parents of patients under 18 years of age admitted to the Emergency Children's Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Paediatrics Clinic III during January -sept 2026

Exclusion Criteria:

- parent of patients under 18 years who refuse to participate or to fill in the questionnaire and the consent form

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Parents questionaires; Distribution of questionnaires to parents of patients under 18 years of age admitted in the Emergency Children's Hospital, Cluj-Napoca	Other: questionnaire application; questionnaire application

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The questionnaire administered to parents and caregivers, entitled "Parents' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Childhood Vaccination", was designed to identify the factors influencing vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, and refusal.	The questionnaire items were structured into the following main domains: Sociodemographic characteristics Vaccination status Attitudes and motivations Sources of information and trust Data obtained from the questionnaires will be analysed. The distribution of quantitative variables will be assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Categorical variables will be expressed as absolute frequencies and percentages. Associations between categorical variables were evaluated using the Chi-square test. Comparisons of non-parametric quantitative variables between two independent groups were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test.	bseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 26, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 22, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): June 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 29, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 22, 2026
• Last Verified: June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Treatment Adherence and Compliance; Health Behavior; Treatment Refusal; Vaccination Refusal; Vaccination Hesitancy
• Other Study ID Numbers: DEP309/15.10.2025

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No