{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T10:25:37Z","timestamp":1789986337202,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]],"date-time":"2026-01-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768867200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005357","name":"Slovak Research and Development Agency","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["APVV-18-0084"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APVV-18-0084"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005357","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005357","name":"Slovak Research and Development Agency","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["APVV-22-0342"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APVV-22-0342"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005357","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences","award":["EGA 1\/0093\/22"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["EGA 1\/0093\/22"]}]},{"name":"Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences","award":["VEGA 1\/0049\/25"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["VEGA 1\/0049\/25"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Seasonal influenza imposes a significant burden on pediatric public health. Despite official recommendations and full insurance coverage, vaccination rates among children in Slovakia remain critically low. This study aims to analyze the attitudes, beliefs, and determinants of parental hesitancy regarding childhood influenza vaccination in the post-pandemic context. Methods: A single-center cross-sectional survey was conducted between February and March 2025 using convenience sampling among parents of children attending a pediatric immunoallergology center. An anonymous questionnaire collected data on demographics, risk perception, and attitudes. Data from 301 parents were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, and odds ratios (OR) to identify key predictors of hesitancy. Results: Only 27.6% of parents expressed willingness to vaccinate their children, while 42.5% were opposed and 29.9% hesitant. Statistical analysis revealed no significant association between parental university education and vaccination intent (p &gt; 0.05), indicating that vaccine hesitancy in this specific setting was present across all educational backgrounds. However, the source of information proved to be a critical determinant: consulting a pediatrician significantly increased the odds of acceptance (OR = 6.32; 95% CI: 3.54\u201311.28), whereas reliance on the internet and social media was a significant predictor of refusal (OR = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.17\u20130.50). The primary reported barrier was fear of adverse effects (70.4%), which significantly outweighed doubts about efficacy (30.2%). Conclusions: Parental hesitancy in Slovakia is a widespread phenomenon pervasive across all educational backgrounds, driven primarily by safety concerns and digital misinformation. The contrast between the protective influence of pediatricians and the negative impact of digital media underscores that clinical encounters are currently the most effective firewall against hesitancy. Public health strategies must therefore pivot from general education to empowering pediatricians with active, presumptive communication strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13010144","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]],"date-time":"2026-01-20T11:27:58Z","timestamp":1768908478000},"page":"144","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Parental Attitudes and Hesitancy Towards Childhood Influenza Vaccination in Slovakia: A Cross-Sectional Survey of 301 Parents"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6770-5599","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peter","family":"Kun\u010d","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, National Institute of Pediatric Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, Clinic of Pediatric Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis, Comenius University in Bratislava, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"},{"name":"Department of Pathological Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jaroslav","family":"F\u00e1bry","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, National Institute of Pediatric Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, Clinic of Pediatric Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis, Comenius University in Bratislava, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5659-9313","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martina","family":"Neuschlov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathological Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2025-2830","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mat\u00fa\u0161","family":"Doh\u00e1l","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Centre Martin, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 05981 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4257-3213","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Renata","family":"P\u00e9\u010dov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathological Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jana","family":"Mazuchov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7976-2523","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milo\u0161","family":"Jese\u0148\u00e1k","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, University Hospital in Martin, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"},{"name":"Institute of Clinical Immunology and Medical Genetics, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, University Hospital Martin, 03601 Martin, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"i6258","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.i6258","article-title":"Influenza","volume":"355","author":"Ghebrehewet","year":"2016","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1511","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/cix1060","article-title":"Seasonal Incidence of Symptomatic Influenza in the United States","volume":"66","author":"Tokars","year":"2018","journal-title":"Clin. 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