Survey on the knowledge, perceptions, and concerns of parents about childhood vaccinations in Italy

Objective The present study aims to assess Italian families' knowledge, perceptions, and concerns about children's vaccinations through a national survey among 1,000 families with children aged 2 months to 16 years, stratified by sex, age, and area of residence. The overall margin of error was ±3.1%, and responses were also examined by geographical area, self-assessed socioeconomic status, and parental age. Results Most parents (90%) consider pediatric vaccines essential for their child's health, 86.5% recognize their importance for public health, 73% parents trust vaccines safety. However, only 34% correctly identified mandatory vaccines and just 17% distinguished between mandatory and recommended ones. Responses regarding compliance with vaccination requirements for school enrollment show an even higher level of disinformation, or incorrect/uncertain responses. Conclusions Despite the high level of knowledge about vaccines declared by the respondents, their answers do not indicate a very deep knowledge. The findings of the survey highlight concerns on the quality of information and the limitations of information provided by Italian institutional sources and national media showing responses that varied systematically by political orientation, indicating knowledge gaps rather than being uniformly grounded in scientific and legislative information. The necessity for more in-depth and comprehensive information is indisputable and vaccine information for parents should have vaccine safety and efficacy at its core.