CILJ ISTRAŽIVANJA: Glavni cilj istraživanja bio je utvrditi stavove i znanja studenata medicine o cijepljenju djece, te istražiti njihovu korelaciju sa spolom, studijskim programom (hrvatski / engleski program) i godinom studija. ISPITANICI I METODE: Istraživanje i diplomski rad temelje se na anonimnoj anketi namjenjenoj studentima medicine Medicinskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Splitu. Za tu svrhu izrađen je poseban upitnik u Google Forms obrascu koji je distribuiran internetskim putem uz odobrenje Etičkog povjerenstva Medicinskog fakulteta u Splitu. Uzorak ispitanika definiran je ukupnim brojem studenata medicine na Medicinskom fakultetu Sveučilišta u Splitu. Od 775 studenata medicine njih 383 (49,4%) ispunilo je upitnik. REZULTATI: Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su pozitivne stavove i homogenu potporu cijepljenju u svim promatranim skupinama ispitanika. Iako se većina studenata slaže oko učinkovitosti i sigurnosti cijepljenja kao najbolje preventivne metode postoje određene razlike u stavovima, ali i zabludama između studenata na hrvatskom i engleskom programu, između muškaraca i žena, te među studentima različitih godina. 96,1% ispitanika smatra da su korisni učinci cijepljenja značajno veći od potencijalnih rizika, a 87,2% da su cjepiva sigurna i dobro kontrolirana. Najbolji dokaz pozitivnog stava o cijepljenju je činjenica da bi 97,7% studenata medicine redovito cijepilo svoje dijete po kalendaru cijepljenja. Rezultati ankete pokazali su da se velika većina studenta (91%) oslanja na pouzdane izvore poput predavanja na fakultetu ili baza znanstvenih podataka. Studenti su pokazali dobru razinu znanja o cijepljenju, iako ih čak 64% smatra da cijepljenje nije dovoljno zastupljeno u nastavnom planu. ZAKLJUČCI: Velika većina studenata ima iznimno pozitivno mišljenje o cijepljenju i shvaća važnost kontinuiranog provođenja i postizanja adekvatne procijepljenosti populacije. Provedeno istraživanje ukazuje na potrebu revizije postojećih dodiplomskih kurikula i bolje edukacije studenta o značaju prevencije bolesti, osobito programa cijepljenja.

OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this research was to determine the attitudes and knowledge of medical students on the vaccination of children and to investigate their correlation with gender, study program (croatian / english program) and year of study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Research is based on an anonymous survey for students of medicine at the School of Medicine of the University of Split. For this purpose, a special questionnaire was created and distributed over the Internet with the approval of the Ethics Committee of the of Medical School in Split. The sample of respondents was defined by the total number of medical students at the School of Medicine in Split. Out of 775 medical students, 383 (49.4%) of them completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: Results of this research showed positive attitudes and homogeneous vaccine support in all observed groups of respondents. Even though most of the students agree on the efficacy and safety of vaccination as the best preventive method, there are certain differences in attitudes as well as misapprehensions among students in the Croatian and English programs, between men and women, and among students of different years. 96,1% of respondents think that the benefits of vaccination are significantly higher than the potential risks and 87,2% of respondents think that vaccines are safe and well-controlled. The best evidence of a positive attitude towards vaccination is the fact that 97,7% of respondents would regularly vaccinate their children according to the vaccination schedule. The survey results showed that a vast majority of students (91%) relied on reliable sources such as lectures at the faculty or scientific data bases. Students showed a good level of knowledge about vaccination, although as many as 64% believe that vaccination is not sufficiently represented in the curriculum. CONCLUSION: vast majority of students have a positive opinion about vaccination and realize the importance of a continuous implementation of the vaccination program. This research suggests the need to review the existing undergraduate curriculum and to better educate students about the importance of prevention of diseases, especially the vaccination program.