Peer-reviewed article
Vaccination coverage of Roma children, and barriers and attitudes of Roma parents
Ioanna Stilianesi, Pinelopi Varela, Panagiotis Mitropoulos, Άννα Δελτσίδου ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined vaccination coverage among Roma children aged 2-12 years in Greece and identified barriers to vaccination among Roma parents. The vaccination coverage rate was 61.63%, which is low compared to general population rates. While financial barriers were minimal (9%), lack of information about vaccine necessity (21.5%) and low motivation were significant obstacles. The study found that vaccination rates varied by settlement location and child sex, suggesting that culturally-sensitive health interventions are needed.
Key points
- Vaccination coverage among Roma children was 61.63%, which is substantially below national targets
- Child sex influenced vaccination rates, but age did not
- Only 9% of Roma parents cited financial barriers to vaccination
- 21.5% of parents reported insufficient information about vaccination necessity, and 17 parents lacked motivation
- Vaccination rates were higher in larger cities and varied significantly by settlement
Limitations
The study was limited to one prefecture in Greece, so findings may not generalise to Roma populations in other regions or countries. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causation or explain why sex differences in vaccination exist.
Abstract
Introduction: The population of Roma children is an especially vulnerable social group, experiencing a greater prevalence of health risk factors and presenting poor vaccination rates. Aim: The objective of this study was to examine the vaccination coverage among the Roma child population in a specific prefecture of Greece and to assess the barriers and attitudes of Roma parents regarding vaccination. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study included two hundred Roma children aged 2 to 12 years old residing in ten settlements of one prefecture in Greece. Data were collected through the use of two structured questionnaires, which consisted of questions regarding the demographic characteristics of the Roma child population, information related to vaccination, Roma settlements, and information regarding the barriers and attitudes of Roma parents about vaccination. Results: The percentage of vaccination coverage rose to 61.63%, and the majority of the children had vaccination documents. The vaccination coverage was not associated with the age of the children but their sex had an impact. The vaccination rate was greater in the larger cities, and it was also affected by the settlement. Fifty-one percent of the Roma parents did not report any difficulty regarding the vaccination of their children, and only 9% reported barriers related to financial reasons. Moreover, 21.5% of parents had insufficient information about the necessity of vaccinations, while seventeen expressed a lack of motivation. Conclusions: The present study found that the vaccination coverage among Roma children in one prefecture of Greece was low. Health professionals need to implement targeted Roma interventions considering their cultural sensitivities.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Assessment of vaccination coverage and identification of barriers and attitudes of Roma parents regarding vaccination to inform future health interventions
- Population
- 200 Roma children aged 2-12 years in ten settlements in one prefecture of Greece
Key finding
Vaccination coverage was 61.63% among Roma children