INTRODUCTION Vaccine hesitancy is identified as one of the top threats to global health. A significant drop of childhood vaccine coverage is reported worldwide. One of the key reasons that influenced mothers' choice to postpone, or avoid children's vaccination, is knowledge. This study aimed to assess the level of Cypriot mothers' knowledge on certain aspects of vaccination of their children, examine the association between vaccination knowledge and selected socio-demographic factors, and lastly assess the association of mothers' knowledge about vaccination with vaccination coverage and delay, compliance to the recommended schedules, vaccination during pregnancy and mother-pediatrician relationship. METHODS An online-based cross-sectional study conducted to collect information about socio-demographic characteristics, child's characteristics, vaccination, 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 Cyprus. RESULTS A total of 703 Cypriot mothers participated in the study. Most of the participants stated that they vaccined their children (97%) and the most popular source of information about vaccination was their pediatrician (90%). More than half of the participants (57%) have delayed their child/children vaccination with their pediatrician's suggestion being the main reason. 36% of mothers had low knowledge while the overall correct rate was 13.6% and the median (IQR) knowledge score was 11 (9-12). Having a medium knowledge about vaccination was associated with having a medium or high income, whilst high knowledge compared to low knowledge was associated with completed a higher education and having a high income. Our analysis showed that the correct knowledge by mothers with regards to vaccination increases the probability of vaccinating their children, following the local recommendations for vaccine dosages, and acquiring and trusting vaccination-related information from their children's pediatrician. CONCLUSION Our findings show that the majority of mothers in Cyprus had positives perceptions regarding childhood vaccination, as reflected with the high vaccination rate, however, some aspects of mothers' knowledge of vaccination need to be improved. Public health strategies to promote vaccination, education programs as well as improved communication tools between pediatricians and mothers need to be considered to achieve favorable vaccination attitudes and practices for all mothers in Cyprus.

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关于塞浦路斯儿童疫苗接种的母亲知识：一项横断面研究。

引言 疫苗犹豫被确定为对全球健康的最大威胁之一。据报道，全球儿童疫苗覆盖率显着下降。影响母亲选择推迟或避免儿童接种疫苗的关键原因之一是知识。本研究旨在评估塞浦路斯母亲对其子女疫苗接种某些方面的知识水平，检查疫苗接种知识与选定的社会人口因素之间的关联，最后评估母亲对疫苗接种的知识与疫苗接种覆盖率和延迟之间的关联。 , 遵守推荐的时间表，怀孕期间的疫苗接种和母儿科医生的关系。方法 一项基于在线的横断面研究，旨在收集有关社会人口特征、儿童 s 特征、疫苗接种和疫苗知识，使用自我管理的问卷。该调查于 2020 年 4 月至 2020 年 6 月期间进行，研究人群包括居住在塞浦路斯且至少有一个孩子（<18 岁）的 18 岁以上的母亲。结果 共有 703 名塞浦路斯母亲参与了这项研究。大多数参与者表示他们为孩子接种了疫苗 (97%)，而最受欢迎的疫苗接种信息来源是他们的儿科医生 (90%)。超过一半的参与者 (57%) 推迟了他们的孩子/儿童的疫苗接种，其儿科医生的建议是主要原因。36% 的母亲知识水平较低，而整体正确率为 13.6%，知识得分中位数 (IQR) 为 11 (9-12)。对疫苗接种具有中等知识与中等或高收入相关，而与低知识相比，高知识与完成高等教育和高收入相关。我们的分析表明，母亲对疫苗接种的正确知识增加了为孩子接种疫苗的可能性，遵循当地的疫苗剂量建议，并从孩子的儿科医生那里获取和信任与疫苗接种相关的信息。结论 我们的研究结果表明，塞浦路斯的大多数母亲对儿童疫苗接种持积极态度，这反映在高疫苗接种率上，但是，母亲对疫苗接种知识的某些方面需要提高。促进疫苗接种的公共卫生战略，