{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T06:20:36Z","timestamp":1783405236444,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783382400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Persistent below-replacement fertility and accelerated population ageing now drive much of the public health agenda in Europe, with measurable consequences for perinatal services and long-term care demand. Aggregate-level data document these trends well; individual-level determinants of fertility intentions in Central European low-fertility settings remain less well characterised. We carried out a cross-sectional online survey in the Greater Poland Voivodeship of Poland between March 2023 and March 2024, recruiting through mixed online channels. The instrument covered demographic, socioeconomic, residential, normative and behavioural domains, including a 10-item Likert scale on perceived barriers to childbearing. The primary outcome was the desired number of children \u201cregardless of existing barriers.\u201d Associations were assessed using Spearman correlation, Kruskal\u2013Wallis and Mann\u2013Whitney tests, and proportional-odds ordinal logistic regression; perceived barriers were summarised by exploratory factor analysis. The sample comprised 1,092 respondents aged 18 to over 40\u202fyears, recruited across the rural\u2013urban gradient. The mean desired number of children was 1.84 (SD 1.09); 14.8% wanted no children, while 22.9% wanted three or more. In adjusted ordinal logistic regression, religion influencing family decisions (OR\u202f=\u202f2.39; 95% CI 1.75\u20133.27;\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001), receipt of the 500+\u202fchild benefit (OR\u202f=\u202f1.58; 95% CI 1.26\u20131.99;\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001) and age (OR\u202f=\u202f1.03 per year; 95% CI 1.02\u20131.04;\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001) were positively associated with higher reproductive intentions, while urbanisation level was negatively associated (OR\u202f=\u202f0.92; 95% CI 0.86\u20130.99;\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f0.023). Subjective financial situation, educational attainment and perceived influence of the Ukraine war were not significant after adjustment. Factor analysis of the 10 barrier items (KMO\u202f=\u202f0.86; Bartlett\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001) identified two dimensions: structural barriers (\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b1<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f0.84; 46.4% of variance), encompassing material situation, housing, partner availability and career ambitions; and psychosocial-normative barriers (\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b1<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f0.80; 13.1% of variance), encompassing fear of parenthood, perceived lack of support and reluctance to change one\u2019s current life. Fertility intentions in this Central European setting are shaped by a heterogeneous mix of structural, normative and life-course factors that cannot be reduced to material conditions alone, supporting a multi-dimensional approach to public health and family policy.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1872501","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T05:45:30Z","timestamp":1783403130000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Determinants of fertility intentions in a low-fertility region of Central Europe: a cross-sectional survey of 1,092 respondents in the Greater Poland Voivodeship"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Andrzej","family":"Ciborek","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Interprofessional Education, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Kalisz University of President Stanis\u0142aw Wojciechowski","place":["Kalisz, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zuzanna","family":"Ch\u0119ci\u0144ska-Maciejewska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food and Nutrition, Kalisz University of President Stanis\u0142aw Wojciechowski","place":["Kalisz, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Agnieszka","family":"Nowak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Kalisz University of President Stanis\u0142aw Wojciechowski","place":["Kalisz, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hanna","family":"Krauss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Sciences, Institute of Preventive Research, Kalisz University of President Stanis\u0142aw Wojciechowski","place":["Kalisz, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2057","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(24)00550-6","article-title":"Global fertility in 204 countries and territories, 1950\u20132021, with forecasts to 2100: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2021","volume":"403","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.1080\/00324728.2023.2298678","article-title":"Change in the perceived reproductive age window and delayed fertility in Europe","volume":"79","author":"Lazzari","year":"2025","journal-title":"Popul Stud"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1312","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(12)62087-X","article-title":"Ageing in the European Union","volume":"381","author":"Rechel","year":"2013","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref4","volume-title":"World Report on Ageing and Health","year":"2015"},{"key":"ref5","volume-title":"Demographic Yearbook of Poland 2025","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref6","volume-title":"Fertility Decline and Population Ageing in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, 2013\u20132024: a Longitudinal Analysis of Implications for Regional Health and Social Services Planning","author":"Ciborek","year":"2026"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1462215","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1462215","article-title":"Decrease in reproductive desires among non-parent heterosexual women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland: the role of epidemiological stress, socioeconomic status, and reproductive rights","volume":"13","author":"Marcinkowska","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref8","first-page":"31","article-title":"Short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on age-specific fertility rates in Poland","volume":"185","author":"Tymicki","year":"2024","journal-title":"Stud Demogr"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1186\/s41118-020-00094-3","article-title":"A reflection on economic uncertainty and fertility in Europe: the narrative framework","volume":"76","author":"Vignoli","year":"2020","journal-title":"Genus"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"473","DOI":"10.1007\/s10680-020-09570-0","article-title":"Beyond the economic gaze: childbearing during and after recessions in the Nordic countries","volume":"37","author":"Comolli","year":"2021","journal-title":"Eur J Popul"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1728-4457.2015.00024.x","article-title":"Re-theorizing family demographics","volume":"41","author":"Esping-Andersen","year":"2015","journal-title":"Popul Dev Rev"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.1111\/padr.12334","article-title":"Latest-late fertility? Decline and resurgence of late parenthood across the low-fertility countries","volume":"46","author":"Beaujouan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Popul Dev Rev"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"913","DOI":"10.1111\/padr.12431","article-title":"Can policies stall the fertility fall? A systematic review of the (quasi-)experimental literature","volume":"47","author":"Bergsvik","year":"2021","journal-title":"Popul Dev Rev"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e70158","DOI":"10.1002\/psp.70158","article-title":"Changing fertility patterns in Poland: urban, suburban and rural dimensions","volume":"32","author":"Kurek","year":"2026","journal-title":"Popul Space Place"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1007\/s10680-020-09556-y","article-title":"The great recession and fertility in Europe: a sub-national analysis","volume":"37","author":"Matysiak","year":"2021","journal-title":"Eur J Popul"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1872501\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T05:45:32Z","timestamp":1783403132000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1872501\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]]},"references-count":15,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1872501"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1872501","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]]},"article-number":"1872501"}}