Attitudes of hospital physicians toward childhood mandatory vaccines in France: A cross-sectional survey

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of hospital staff physicians, weighted data, France, September 2018 to October 2019 (N = 1,795)

	No.	%
	(N = 1,795)
Characteristics
Sex
Female	962	53.58
Male	833	46.42
Age (years)
< 35	407	22.67
35–44	475	26.47
45–54	357	19.87
55–64	488	27.18
> 64	68	3.81
Specialty
Anaesthesiologist	62	3.46
Cardiologist	119	6.61
Dermatologist	68	3.78
Endocrinologist	88	4.91
General practitioner	32	1.81
Geriatrician	118	6.56
Gynecologist-obstetrician	95	5.32
Hepato-gastroenterologist	122	6.81
Infectious diseases physician	102	5.70
Internist	100	5.56
Nephrologist	93	5.20
Neurologist	104	5.78
Onco-hematologist	115	6.42
Ophthalmologist, otolaryngologist	30	1.65
Pediatrician	186	10.35
Physiatrist	12	0.70
Psychiatrist	32	1.77
Public health, social medicine and Occupational health	52	2.89
Pulmonologist	117	6.52
Rheumatologist	60	3.33
Surgeon	87	4.87
Vaccination opinions
Favorable to vaccination in general
Strongly agree	1682	94.31
Somewhat agree	99	5.53
Strongly/somewhat disagree	3	0.16
Don’t know/No response	12

Table 2. Acceptance of official vaccination policies, hospital staff physicians, weighted data, France, September 2018 to October 2019

	No.
	(N = 1795)	%
Acceptance of official vaccination policies
In favor of mandatory vaccination against seasonal influenza for healthcare workers
Yes	1431	79.74
No	325	18.10
Doesn’t know/NR^a	39	2.16
Regarding the extension of mandatory vaccination from 3 to 11 diseases among children:
It was essential in the current epidemiological context
Yes	1502	83.68
No	169	9.43
Doesn’t know/NR	124	6.89
It was essential, but mandatory vaccination should have been extended to other vaccines as well
Yes	320	17.85
No	1161	64.68
Doesn’t know/NR	313	17.46
Education and persuasion would have been preferable
Yes	722	40.22
No	1000	55.70
Doesn’t know/NR	73	4.08
Information transmitted by French health authorities to physicians about the rationale behind the vaccination policy is clear enough
Strongly disagree	129	7.17
Somewhat disagree	473	26.36
Somewhat agree	740	41.24
Strongly agree	390	21.72
Doesn’t know	63	3.51
You trust the group of experts who establish vaccine recommendations in France
Strongly/somewhat disagree	36	2.02
Somewhat agree	544	30.39
Strongly agree	1209	67.58
Do not know/NR	6
Experience related to vaccination
Has had any patients with at least one vaccine-preventable disease in the past 5 years
Yes	1603	89.30
No/Doesn’t know/NR	192	10.70
Personal vaccination against influenza
Against 2017/18 seasonal influenza
Yes	1468	81.92
No	324	18.08
Doesn’t know/NR	4
Trust in health authorities
Score of trust in official sources of information about vaccination
Low	617	34.36
Moderate	570	31.76
High	608	33.88
You trust your own judgment over official vaccination recommendations
Strongly disagree	1239	69.30
Somewhat disagree	429	23.97
Somewhat agree	91	5.08
Strongly agree	30	1.65
Doesn’t know/NR	6

^aNo response.

Table 3. Regarding the extension of mandatory vaccination from 3 to 11 diseases among young children, factors associated with favoring education and persuasion over mandatory vaccination, simple and multiple modified Poisson regressions, hospital staff physicians, France, September 2018 to October 2019

	Education and persuasion would have been preferable to mandatory vaccination (ref. No^a) N = 1,795
	RR^b	95% CI	aRR	95% CI
Characteristics
Sex (ref. Female)
Male	0.98	[0.88,1.10]	1.00	[0.89,1.11]
Age (ref. < 35)
35 to 54	0.95	[0.84,1.07]	0.91	[0.81,1.02]
> 54	0.82*	[0.69,0.97]	0.77**	[0.65,0.91]
Experience and practices related to vaccination
Exposure to vaccine-preventable diseases [0–5]	0.99	[0.95,1.03]	0.99	[0.95,1.04]
Discusses vaccination with patients (ref. No^a)
Yes	0.90	[0.74,1.09]	0.95	[0.78,1.15]
Trust in health authorities
Score of trust in official sources of information about vaccination (ref. Low [8–20])
Moderate [20.5–22]	0.82**	[0.72,0.93]	0.93	[0.82,1.05]
High [22.5–24]	0.63***	[0.55,0.72]	0.75***	[0.65,0.86]
You trust your own judgment over official vaccination recommendations (ref. No)
Yes^a	1.42***	[1.20,1.69]	1.26**	[1.06,1.49]
The information transmitted by authorities on the rationale behind the vaccination policy is sufficiently clear (ref. No^a)
Yes	0.78***	[0.70,0.87]	0.85**	[0.76,0.94]
Opinion about seasonal influenza vaccination among healthcare workers and personal vaccination against influenza
In favor of mandatory vaccination against seasonal influenza for healthcare workers (ref. No^a)
Yes	0.80***	[0.71,0.91]	0.90	[0.79,1.02]
Vaccinated against 2017–2018 seasonal influenza (ref. No^a)
Yes	0.93	[0.81,1.06]	1.11	[0.97,1.28]
Opinion on the extension of mandatory vaccination from 3 to 11 diseases among infants
It was essential given the current epidemiological context (ref. Yes)
No^a	1.85***	[1.67,2.06]	1.70***	[1.52,1.91]

^aIncludes “Doesn’t know” and non-response.

^bRR: relative risks; aRR: adjusted relative risks; CI: confidence interval; ***: p < 0.001, **: p < 0.001, *: p < 0.05; VIF < 5, no proof of multicollinearity.