The article presented the results of a nationwide survey on parental attitudes toward childhood vaccinations in Poland. Most parents assessed vaccinations positively as an effective means of preventing infectious diseases, although some expressed concerns about vaccine safety, particularly for newly introduced vaccines or those targeting rare diseases. The greatest concerns were related to pneumococcal and poliomyelitis vaccines. Older, better‑educated parents and urban residents were more likely to report such concerns. Despite these reservations, only a small proportion of parents refused to vaccinate their children. We emphasized that regular monitoring of parental attitudes allowed for better adaptation of educational activities and public health programmes to societal needs.
This cross‑sectional survey was funded by the European Commission DG SANCO through the international VACSATC project. As part of this collaboration, experts from several European countries agreed on a common methodology and a shared set of interview questions, allowing for meaningful comparisons across countries. For our study, we adapted the UK questionnaire used for the systematic monitoring of parental attitudes toward vaccination. The UK approach proved so effective that we recommended the regular use of knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) surveys within the Polish immunization programme to monitor public attitudes and detect early signs of doubt or hesitancy. Unfortunately, this recommendation was not adopted, and KAP surveys have since been conducted only sporadically, without consistent oversight of methodology or questionnaire content.