Background One of the main reasons that influence parental choice to postpone or avoid children’s vaccination is insufficient knowledge. Mothers’ knowledge can be considered as an important factor when determining childcare, as they are often the primary decision maker for their children’s healthcare issues. This study aimed to assess the level of mothers’ knowledge and practice on certain aspects of vaccination for their child/children in Greece. Methods This was an online cross-sectional survey, which collected information about mother’s socio-demographic characteristics, vaccination-related information, and vaccine knowledge using a self-administered questionnaire. The survey was conducted between April 2020 and June 2020 and the study population included mothers over 18 years old with at least one child (< 18 years old), living in four broad geographical areas of Greece (Attica, Central Greece, North Greece, and Crete/Aegean Islands). Results A total of 1885 Greek mothers participated in the study. The majority stated that they vaccined their child/children (98%), and the most popular source of information about vaccination was their child’s pediatrician (89%). About half of participants (52%) have delayed their child/children vaccination with their pediatrician’s suggestion being the main driver. The median knowledge score was 11 which indicates a high knowledge level for childhood vaccination among Greek mothers. Multiple linear regression analysis identified an inverse association between education and knowledge score, characterized by higher knowledge scores among individuals with secondary and even higher among those with higher education. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the strict adherence to the prescribed dosage as indicated by the local recommendations for each vaccine, was associated with most of the knowledge items included in the study. Conclusions Our findings show that the vast majority of mothers in Greece did vaccinate their child/children, while pediatricians appear to have a very influential role in mothers’ decision making. High knowledge around vaccination was associated with mothers’ educational attainment, being particularly high among those who completed higher education. Considerable attention is required from public health authorities to promote vaccination through educational programs and campaigns, particularly aimed at people with lower educational attainment. Additionally, improving communication between pediatricians and mothers to reach those women who have not decided to vaccinate or delayed vaccination for their children, may prove to be very beneficial.

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Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to declare. Leslie D. Williams declares that she has no conflict of interest. Ania Korobchuk declares that she has no conflict of interest. Eirini Pavlitina declares that she has no conflict of interest. Georgios K. Nikolopoulos declares that he has no conflict of interest. Britt Skaathun declares that she has no conflict of interest. John Schneider declares that he has no conflict of interest. Evangelia-Georgia Kostaki declares that she has no conflict of interest. Pavlo Smyrnov declares that he has no conflict of interest. Tetyana I. Vasylyeva declares that she has no conflict of interest. Mina Psichogiou declares that she has no conflict of interest. Ethan Morgan declares that he has no conflict of interest. Andria Hadjikou declares that she has no conflict of interest. Martin J. Downing, Jr. declares that he has no conflict of interest. Angelos Hatzakis declares that he has no conflict of interest. Samuel R. Friedman declares that he has no conflict of interest.

BackgroundMaternal attitudes and beliefs have been shown to influence childhood vaccination coverage, resulting in under-vaccination, non-vaccination, and vaccination delay. This study aimed to investigate the mothers' attitudes and perceptions about vaccination for their children in Greece.MethodsThis was an online cross-sectional study, conducted from 4 April to 8 June 2020. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information about mothers' and their children's socio-demographic characteristics, previous vaccination behavior, and mothers' attitudes and perceptions about childhood vaccination. Participants included adult mothers with at least one minor child.ResultsOne thousand eight hundred eighty-five mothers participated, with the majority (91.7%) believing in the usefulness of vaccines and that vaccines protect children from serious and life-threatening diseases. A larger percentage of mothers with higher educational attainment agreed/absolutely agreed that all vaccinations provided by the National Vaccination Program must be offered to their children (91.6%) (p = 0.02) and that vaccines protect children from serious and life-threatening diseases (92.9%) (p = 0.01). Significant more married/in cohabitation and not single-parent mothers agreed that vaccines are safe (53.5% and 53.4%, respectively). There were also several significant associations between maternal attitudes toward childhood vaccination and previous maternal vaccination practices [(e.g., adherence to recommended vaccination dosages (all p-values &lt; 0.01), vaccination delays (all p-values &lt; 0.05), and vaccination during pregnancy (all p-values &lt; 0.01)].ConclusionMaternal attitudes and perceptions toward childhood vaccination are significantly influenced by sociodemographic factors and maternal vaccination practices. Revealing those is essential for public health officials in developing future strategies to improve childhood vaccination coverage and acceptance of new vaccines such as the COVID-19 vaccine.