title: Public opinion on childhood immunisations in Iceland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In recent years, vaccine preventable diseases such as measles and pertussis have been re-emerging in Western countries, maybe because of decreasing participation in childhood vaccination programs in some countries. There is clear evidence for vaccine efficacy and the risk of adverse effects is low. This needs to be communicated to the general public. The aim of the study was to evaluate the public opinion on childhood vaccinations in Iceland.
  
  
  METHODS
  An internet based study was used to evaluate the opinion on childhood immunisations in Iceland. The cohort was divided in three groups: (a) general public (b) employees of the University Hospital Iceland and (c) employees (teachers and staff) of the University of Iceland. The cohorts could be stratified according to age, gender, education, household income, parenthood and residency.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Responses were received from 5584 individuals (53% response rate). When asked about childhood vaccinations in the first and second year of life, approximately 95% of participants were "positive" or "very positive", approximately 1% were "negative" or "very negative". When participants were asked whether they would have their child immunized according to the Icelandic childhood vaccination schedule, 96% were "positive" or "very positive", 1.2% were "negative" or "very negative". Similarly, 92% trust Icelandic Health authorities to decide on childhood vaccination schedule, 2.3% did not. In total, 9.3% "rather" or "strongly" agreed to the statement "I fear that vaccinations can cause severe adverse effects", 17.5% were undecided and 66.9% "disagreed" or "strongly disagreed". Individuals with higher education were more likely to disagree with this statement (OR=1.45, CI95=1.29-1.64, p<0.001) as did males (OR=1.22, CI95=1.087-1.379, p=0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows a very positive attitude towards vaccinations raising expectations for an ongoing success in preventing preventable communicable diseases in childhood in Iceland.
authors.affiliation: University of Iceland, Faculty of Medicine, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Ýmir
authors.initials: Ý
authors.lastname: Óskarsson
authors.affiliation: University of Iceland, Faculty of Medicine, Reykjavik, Iceland; Directorate of Health-Chief Epidemiologist, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Þórólfur
authors.initials: Þ
authors.lastname: Guðnason
authors.affiliation: The Social Science Research Institute-University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Guðbjörg A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Jónsdóttir
authors.affiliation: University of Iceland, Faculty of Medicine, Reykjavik, Iceland; Department of Microbiology-Landspítali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Karl G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Kristinsson
authors.affiliation: University of Iceland, Faculty of Medicine, Reykjavik, Iceland; Directorate of Health-Chief Epidemiologist, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Haraldur
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Briem
authors.affiliation: University of Iceland, Faculty of Medicine, Reykjavik, Iceland; Children's Hospital Iceland-Landspítali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland. Electronic address: asgeir@lsh.is.
authors.forename: Ásgeir
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Haraldsson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D007114:Immunization / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017589:Immunization Programs; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011639:Public Opinion; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Childhood immunisation; Immunisation coverage; Public opinion; Vaccine skepticism