Vaccine hesitancy among parents in Italy: findings from a large nationwide cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Identifying factors linked to vaccine hesitancy is crucial for developing effective strategies. This presentation aims to describe key determinants of hesitancy among Italian parents. Methods The INF-ACT project (Next Generation EU funding within the MUR PNRR Extended Partnership initiative on Emerging Infectious Diseases, Project no. PE00000007) is a collaboration among Italian universities and institutions. Within INF-ACT, a survey was conducted from September 2024 to March 2025 on a sample of 52094 individuals, representative for age, gender, geographic area, education, and municipality size. This abstract presents preliminary analyses conducted on parents with at least one minor child, which were 23.9% of the sample (n = 12451). Multiple regressions were performed considering 3 outcomes: (1) hesitancy among parents of children aged 0-11 years (PACV score≥50), unwillingness to vaccinate adolescents against HPV (2) and meningococcal disease (3). Results The mean age of parents was 43 years (SD = 10); 52% were female, 41% had at least a university degree, and 41% showed inadequate health literacy (HL). Among them, 7984 had at least one child aged 0-11 years, and 6040 had at least one adolescent child. The most frequently reported barriers were excessive waiting times (21% among parents of children) and lack of information (18% among parents of adolescents). Overall, 37% of parents of children were classified as hesitant. Among parents of adolescents, 18% and 20% reported unwillingness to vaccinate against HPV and meningococcal disease, respectively. Several significant associations emerged, e.g. female gender and left-wing political orientation were linked to lower hesitancy, whereas inadequate HL and having a chronic disease were linked to higher hesitancy. Conclusions These findings highlighted the need for tailored communication and organizational strategies to address hesitancy among Italian parents, with particular attention to HL and access barriers.