RT Journal Article
T1 Attitudes and behaviors toward vaccination among nursing students from Spain and Portugal: a cross-sectional study
A1 Pérez Rivas, Francisco Javier
A1 Esteban Gonzalo, Laura
A1 García García, David
A1 Ajejas Bazán, María Julia
A1 Roquette Viana, Maria Clara
A1 Dutra Tholl, Adriana
A1 Marques Vieira, Cristina María Alves
AB Background/ObjectivesSince nursing students will be future promoters of immunization, it is essential to compare the attitudes and behaviors toward vaccination among nursing students in Portugal and Spain, to provide a comparative and contextualised view of the perceptions and practices of future health professionals in two countries with similar health systems and training structures, but influenced by different socio-cultural frameworks. Therefore, allows for the identification of similarities and divergences in the disposition towards vaccination, which is key for the design of more effective and culturally sensitive educational and public health strategies.MethodsThis cross-sectional study assessed and compared attitudes and behaviors toward vaccination among nursing students from the Portuguese Catholic University (Lisbon, Portugal) and the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). The study included 928 students from all four years of the nursing degree program, who completed the Questionnaire on Attitudes and Behaviors toward Vaccination in Health Sciences Students (ACVECS).ResultsThe results showed significant differences between both countries. Spanish students presented more favorable attitudes and behaviors toward vaccination compared to Portuguese students (p < 0.001). Women and native students obtained higher scores. Differences were observed according to academic year: in Spain, students in higher years showed better attitudes, while in Portugal it was first-year students who obtained higher scores. These differences could be influenced by cultural, educational, and pandemic-related factors.ConclusionsSpanish students showed significantly more favorable attitudes and behaviors toward vaccination than Portuguese students. Native students had a better attitude toward vaccination in both countries, this difference being especially notable in behaviors oriented toward vaccination among Portuguese students.
PB Springer
YR 2025
FD 2025-08-04
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/125435
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/125435
LA eng
NO Pérez-Rivas, F.J., Esteban-Gonzalo, L., García-García, D. et al. Attitudes and behaviors toward vaccination among nursing students from Spain and Portugal: a cross-sectional study. BMC Nurs 24, 1012 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03627-3
NO Facultad de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y Podología de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid
NO National Funds through FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UID/04279-Centro de investigação Interdisciplinar em Saúde (CIIS)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 18 dic 2025