Vaccine hesitancy: Opinion of people responsible for the care of infants in Barcelona

Objectives: To describe the opinions regarding vaccination of parents of infants aged 0–7 years in Barcelona with different profiles of vaccine hesitancy; to describe the elements contributing to hesitancy; and to explore suggestions for improvement. Materials and methods: Qualitative exploratory-descriptive and phenomenological study. Thirteen semi-structured individual interviews were carried out with parents of infants with vaccine hesitancy (12 mothers and one father). A thematic content analysis was performed. Data quality was ensured through triangulation strategies. Results: Among the elements contributing to vaccine hesitancy, the participants highlighted the scarce information on vaccines provided by the health system, the variability in the treatment received at the consultation and their need to make informed decisions. Insufficient information contributes to their perception that the vaccination schedule is excessive, premature and rigid, and to the low risk perception of some diseases. Although they report trust in health services, many complement it with private or non-biomedical services. Mothers considered that the COVID-19 pandemic had little influence on their hesitancy. Conclusions: The hesitancy identified among the informants is attributed to the lack of information provided by the health services, the communication and treatment received at the consultation and unresolved doubts regarding the vaccination schedule. It is recommended to increase the skills of the professional teams to improve communication with parents of infants and to increase the quality of the information provided by the National Health System.