{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T10:42:13Z","timestamp":1789468933732,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789430400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Vaccine hesitancy has intensified worldwide, and measles and pertussis have resurged across the WHO European Region. In T\u00fcrkiye, a regulation introduced in May 2024 made documentation of every parental refusal mandatory, rendering 2025 the first calendar year for which provincial refusal data can be considered systematically ascertained. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, registry-based cross-sectional study of all vaccine refusal notifications submitted to the Batman Provincial Health Directorate between 1 January and 31 December 2025, covering all six districts of the province. Sociodemographic data were extracted from the notification database, and reasons for refusal were obtained using a structured questionnaire administered by primary healthcare personnel. Parents could endorse more than one reason. Results: A total of 4118 notifications were analysed. Mothers completed 62.4% of notifications; 44.2% of parents had primary education only and 58.3% belonged to low-income households. The diphtheria\u2013tetanus\u2013acellular pertussis\u2013inactivated poliovirus\u2013Haemophilus influenzae type b (DTaP-IPV-Hib) combination vaccine (28.4%) and measles\u2013mumps\u2013rubella (MMR) vaccine (22.1%) were the most frequently refused vaccines. Exposure to media or community reports was the most frequently endorsed reason (71.3%), followed by concern about adverse effects (68.9%) and doubts about vaccine safety (65.4%). Parents endorsed a mean of 3.6 reasons each. Doubts about safety predominated in lower socioeconomic strata, whereas the perception that vaccination is unnecessary predominated in higher strata. Conclusions: Refusal in this setting rests on a cluster of mutually reinforcing beliefs rather than a single misconception, and the concerns reported differ systematically by socioeconomic position. Differentiated rather than uniform communication strategies are required.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13091247","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T08:16:48Z","timestamp":1789460208000},"page":"1247","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Reasons\u00a0for Childhood Vaccine Refusal: A Cross-Sectional Study in South-Eastern T\u00fcrkiye"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Murat","family":"Solmaz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health, Batman 72060, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Selami Yunus","family":"Ertek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health, Batman 72060, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3314-9090","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ali Naz\u0131m","family":"G\u00fczelba\u011f","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Mardin Training and Research Hospital, Mardin 47100, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u00d6zhan","family":"Orhan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Mardin Artuklu University, Mardin 47100, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2307","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(24)00850-X","article-title":"Contribution of vaccination to improved survival and health: Modelling 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization","volume":"403","author":"Shattock","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4161","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vaccine.2015.04.036","article-title":"Vaccine hesitancy: Definition, scope and determinants","volume":"33","author":"MacDonald","year":"2015","journal-title":"Vaccine"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1007\/s40124-022-00278-9","article-title":"Vaccine Hesitancy: Obstacles and Challenges","volume":"10","author":"Galagali","year":"2022","journal-title":"Curr. 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