scholarly journals Low COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Is Correlated with Conspiracy Beliefs among University Students in Jordan

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2407
Author(s):  
Malik Sallam ◽  
Deema Dababseh ◽  
Huda Eid ◽  
Hanan Hasan ◽  
Duaa Taim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
A Chain

Vaccination to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged as a promising measure to overcome the negative consequences of the pandemic. Since university students could be considered a knowledgeable group, this study aimed to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among this group in Jordan. Additionally, we aimed to examine the association between vaccine conspiracy beliefs and vaccine hesitancy. We used an online survey conducted in January 2021 with a chain-referral sampling approach. Conspiracy beliefs were evaluated using the validated Vaccine Conspiracy Belief Scale (VCBS), with higher scores implying embrace of conspiracies. A total of 1106 respondents completed the survey with female predominance (n = 802, 72.5%). The intention to get COVID-19 vaccines was low: 34.9% (yes) compared to 39.6% (no) and 25.5% (maybe). Higher rates of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance were seen among males (42.1%) and students at Health Schools (43.5%). A Low rate of influenza vaccine acceptance was seen as well (28.8%), in addition to 18.6% of respondents being anti-vaccination altogether. A significantly higher VCBS score was correlated with reluctance to get the vaccine (p < 0.001). Dependence on social media platforms was significantly associated with lower intention to get COVID-19 vaccines (19.8%) compared to dependence on medical doctors, scientists, and scientific journals (47.2%, p < 0.001). The results of this study showed the high prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its association with conspiracy beliefs among university students in Jordan. The implementation of targeted actions to increase the awareness of such a group is highly recommended. This includes educational programs to dismantle vaccine conspiracy beliefs and awareness campaigns to build recognition of the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

scholarly journals WHY SOME HESITATE MORE: CROSS-CULTURAL VARIATION IN CONSPIRACY BELIEFS, BELIEF IN SCIENCE, AND VACCINE ATTITUDES

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gul Deniz Salali ◽  
Mete Sefa Uysal
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Relative Effect ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
The Cross ◽  
The Uk

Background: Countries differ in their levels of vaccine hesitancy (a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines), trust in vaccines, and acceptance of new vaccines. In this paper, we examine the factors contributing to the cross-cultural variation in vaccine attitudes, measured by levels of 1) general vaccine hesitancy, 2) trust in vaccines, and 3) COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Methods: We examined the relative effect of conspiracy mentality, belief in COVID-19 conspiracies, and belief in science on the above-mentioned vaccine attitudes in the UK (n= 1533), US (n= 1550), and Turkey (n= 1567) through a quota-sampled online survey to match the population for age, gender, ethnicity, and education level. Results: We found that belief in COVID-19 conspiracies and conspiracy mentality were the strongest predictors of general vaccine hesitancy across all three countries. Belief in science had the largest positive effect on general vaccine trust and COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Although participants in Turkey demonstrated the lowest level of vaccine trust, their belief in science score was significantly higher than participants in the US, suggesting that belief in science cannot explain the cross-cultural variation in vaccine trust. The mean levels of conspiracy mentality and agreement with COVID-19 conspiracies were consistent with the country-level differences in general and COVID-19 vaccine attitudes. Demographic variables did not predict vaccine attitudes as much as belief in conspiracies and science. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that cross-cultural variation in vaccine hesitancy, vaccine trust, and COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates are mainly driven by differences in the prevalence of conspiratorial thinking across countries.

scholarly journals High Rates of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Its Association with Conspiracy Beliefs: A Study in Jordan and Kuwait among Other Arab Countries

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malik Sallam ◽  
Deema Dababseh ◽  
Huda Eid ◽  
Kholoud Al-Mahzoum ◽  
Ayat Al-Haidar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
General Public ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Source Of Information

Vaccination could be an effective strategy for slowing the spread of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Vaccine hesitancy could pose a serious problem for COVID-19 prevention, due to the spread of misinformation surrounding the ongoing pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes towards the prospective COVID-19 vaccines among the general public in Jordan, Kuwait and other Arab countries. We also aimed to assess the association between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and conspiracy beliefs. This study used an online survey distributed in December 2020, with items assessing conspiracies regarding COVID-19’s origin and vaccination. Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines were assessed using the Vaccine Conspiracy Belief Scale (VCBS), with higher scores indicating a greater belief in vaccine conspiracy. A total of 3414 respondents completed the survey, the majority being residents of Jordan (n = 2173, 63.6%), Kuwait (n = 771, 22.6%) and Saudi Arabia (n = 154, 4.5%). The acceptance rates for COVID-19 and influenza vaccines were 29.4% and 30.9%, respectively. Males, respondents with higher educational levels and those with histories of chronic disease had higher rates of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Beliefs that COVID-19 vaccines are intended to inject microchips into recipients and that the vaccines are related to infertility were found in 27.7% and 23.4% of respondents, respectively. Higher VCBS scores were found among females, respondents with lower educational levels and respondents relying on social media platforms as the main source of information. The high rates of vaccine hesitancy in Jordan and Kuwait, among other Arab countries, are alarming. They could hinder the proper control of COVID-19 in the region. The harmful effect of COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy beliefs was manifested in vaccine hesitancy. This may represent a massive obstacle to the successful control of the pandemic. A reliance on social media as the main source of information about COVID-19 vaccines was associated with vaccine hesitancy. This should alert governments, policy makers and the general public to the importance of vigilant fact checking.

scholarly journals COVID-19 vaccine demand, hesitancy, and nationalism: a case of protection motivation behavior in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 1388-1395
Author(s):  
Mostafizur Rahman ◽  
Afnan Hossain ◽  
Abu Sufian ◽  
Nahida Anwar
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Protection Motivation ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Specific Health

Introduction: Immunization, as a process of fighting against the COVID-19, has gained important research appeal, but very limited endeavor has been paid for vaccine behavioral studies in underdeveloped and developing countries. This study explores the vaccine demand, hesitancy, and nationalism as well as vaccine acceptance and domestic vaccine preference among young adults in Bangladesh. Methodology: This quantitative study followed the snowball sampling technique and collected responses from 1,018 individuals from various social media platforms. The analysis covered both descriptive and inferential statistics including chi-square, F-statistic, and logistic regression. Results: The findings of the fully-adjusted regression model suggest that the individuals who had more vaccine demand were 3.29 times (95% confidence interval = 2.39-4.54; p < 0.001) higher to accept vaccine compared to those who had no vaccine demand. Conversely, vaccine hesitancy was negatively associated with vaccine acceptance. Here, the odds ratio was found 0.70 (95% confidence interval = 0.62-0.80; p < 0.001), which means that those who had higher vaccine hesitancy were about 30% less likely to accept vaccines than those who had no hesitancy. In addition, the persons who had vaccine nationalism were 1.75 times (95% confidence interval = 1.62-1.88; p < 0.001) more prone to prefer domestic vaccine. Conclusions: This study suggests that policymakers may take initiatives for making people aware and knowledgeable about the severity and vulnerability to specific health threats. In this concern, perception and efficacy-increasing programs may take part in increasing protection motivation behaviors like vaccine acceptance and (domestic) vaccine preference.

DETERMINANTS OF COVID-19 VACCINE ACCEPTANCE AMONG THE GENERAL ADULT POPULATION IN CHENNAI – A CROSS SECTIONAL SURVEY

2021 ◽  
pp. 12-14
Author(s):  
Monica Kalyanaraman ◽  
Parameswari Srijayanth ◽  
Srinivas Govindarajulu
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Total N ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
The People

Background: Coronavirus outbreak was a highly unpredicted global burden that caused millions of deaths across the world. Vaccination against the infection declines the morbidity and mortality rates. This study objective aims to determine the reasons for the vaccine acceptance. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted through an online survey among the people living in chennai, Tamilnadu. An E-survey Google forms are circulated through the social platforms and email. Excluding the non-response all the data gained was descriptively analyzed. Results: Out of total (n =376 ≥ 18 years) participants majority of them showed High acceptance and got already vaccinated whereas some revealed the fear of vaccine safety and risk effects. Vaccine hesitancy is seen in terms of lack of trust and proper awareness, myths about adverse effects. In addition our ndings positively convey the knowledge of effective preventive measures for infection and proper following of government guidelines. Conclusion: The study outcomes even though shows willingness of the people in receiving the vaccine at some point still a notable interruption is seen. Prioritization should be given to those critical areas to inuence the public perception about vaccine benets because now vaccination is the only essential measure to suppress the healthcare pressure which halts the covid 19 infection.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Chinese Population: A Large-Scale National Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Wu ◽  
Quanman Li ◽  
Clifford Silver Tarimo ◽  
Meiyun Wang ◽  
Jianqin Gu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Educational Level ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Booster Vaccination ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
National Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
And Behavior

Globally, vaccine hesitancy is a growing public health problem. It is detrimental to the consolidation of immunization program achievements and elimination of vaccine-targeted diseases. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in China and explore its contributing factors. A national cross-sectional online survey among Chinese adults (≥18 years old) was conducted between August 6, 2021 and August 9 via a market research company. We collected sociodemographic information; lifestyle behavior; quality of life; the knowledge, awareness, and behavior of COVID-19; the knowledge, awareness, and behavior of COVID-19 vaccine; willingness of COVID-19 vaccination; accessibility of COVID-19 vaccination services; skepticism about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccine; doctor and vaccine developer scale; and so on. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to estimate the associations by using logistic regression models. A total of 29,925 residents (48.64% men) were enrolled in our study with mean age of 30.99 years. We found an overall prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy at 8.40% (95% CI, 8.09–8.72) in primary vaccination and 8.39% (95% CI, 8.07–8.70) in booster vaccination. In addition, after adjusting for potential confounders, we found that women, higher educational level, married residents, higher score of health condition, never smoked, increased washing hands, increased wearing mask, increased social distance, lower level of vaccine conspiracy beliefs, disease risks outweigh vaccine risk, higher level of convenient vaccination, and higher level of trust in doctor and developer were more willing to vaccinate than all others (all p &lt; 0.05). Age, sex, educational level, marital status, chronic disease condition, smoking, healthy behaviors, the curability of COVID-19, the channel of accessing information of COVID-19 vaccine, endorsement of vaccine conspiracy beliefs, weigh risks of vaccination against risks of the disease, making a positive influence on the health of others around you, and lower trust in healthcare system may affect the variation of willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine (all p &lt; 0.05). The prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was modest in China, even with the slight resulting cascade of changing vaccination rates between the primary and booster vaccination. Urgent action to address vaccine hesitancy is needed in building trust in medical personnel and vaccine producers, promoting the convenience of vaccination services, and spreading reliable information of COVID-19 vaccination via the Internet and other media.

scholarly journals Spirituality and other factors associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance amongst Healthcare Workers in Cameroon

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neh Chang Ngasa ◽  
Stewart Ndutard Ngasa ◽  
Leticia Armelle Sani Tchouda ◽  
Eugénie Tanisso ◽  
Christabel Abanda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Negative Perceptions

Abstract Background: The production of the different COVID-19 vaccines has offered hope towards controlling the pandemic. Many governments around the world have been able to secure the number of doses required for the vaccination of their entire population. In Cameroon, the government’s strategy has been to secure the number of doses required to vaccinate frontline workers and other population at risk. A threat to this strategy could be vaccine hesitancy as demonstrated in previous studies. In this article we discussed the influence of spirituality on vaccine acceptance. We also examined other factors associated with vaccine acceptance amongst healthcare workers in Cameroon. Methods: This was a cross-sectional online survey of healthcare workers in Cameroon. Data was collected using Surveysparrow and then computed into Microsoft Excel. All analysis were done using Stata 14. Results: A total number of 371 healthcare workers took part in the survey and 45.38% indicated willingness to accept the vaccine if offered. The most common reason advanced for non-acceptance of the vaccine was negative perceptions about the efficacy of the vaccines. Independent factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance following a multivariate logistic regression included: being married (AOR 1.13, p< 0.01), presence of comorbidity (AOR:2.10, p<0.02), participants who had direct contact with covid patients (AOR: 3.34, p<0.01). Spirituality level was not independently associated with vaccine acceptance (AOR: 1.12, p<0.63). Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccine acceptance amongst healthcare workers in Cameroon is low. This is likely to reduce the vaccine uptake amongst healthcare workers. HCWs are in the best position to influence the uptake of these vaccines by the general population, therefore educating healthcare workers on the efficacy of these vaccines might improve their acceptance.

scholarly journals Expanding Protection Motivation Theory to Explain Willingness of COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake among Taiwanese University Students

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1046
Author(s):  
Po-Ching Huang ◽  
Ching-Hsia Hung ◽  
Yi-Jie Kuo ◽  
Yu-Pin Chen ◽  
Daniel Kwasi Ahorsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Adaptive Response ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Protection Motivation Theory ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Protection Motivation ◽  
Motivation Theory ◽  
Perceived Knowledge ◽  
Maladaptive Response

Vaccination appears to be one of the effective strategies to control the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the challenge of vaccine hesitancy may lower the uptake rate and affect overall vaccine efficacy. Being a low-risk group in terms of serious consequences of infection, university students may possess low motivation to get vaccinated. Therefore, an expanded Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) incorporating perceived knowledge, adaptive response, and maladaptive response was proposed to investigate the COVID-19 vaccination intention among Taiwanese university students. University students (n = 924; 575 males; mean age = 25.29 years) completed an online survey during January to February 2021. The proposed expanded PMT model was examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that perceived knowledge was significantly associated with coping appraisal (standardized coefficient (β) = 0.820; p < 0.001), and coping appraisal was significantly associated with adaptive response (β = 0.852; p < 0.001), maladaptive response (β = 0.300; p < 0.001) and intention (β = 0.533; p = 0.009). Moreover, maladaptive response (β = −0.173; p = 0.001) but not adaptive response (β = 0.148; p = 0.482) was significantly and negatively associated with intention. The present study’s results demonstrated a positive path between perceived knowledge, coping appraisal, and intention among university students. Therefore, improving knowledge among this population may increase the intention to uptake the vaccine.

scholarly journals Negative Consequences of Substance Use in European University Students: Results from Project SNIPE

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82
Author(s):  
John McAlaney ◽  
Robert C. Dempsey ◽  
Stefanie M. Helmer ◽  
Guido Van Hal ◽  
Bridgette M. Bewick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
University Students ◽  
North American ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
European Students ◽  
Harm Prevention ◽  
European University

<b><i>Background:</i></b> University students are a risk group for heavy substance use and the experience of various potentially severe negative substance use consequences which may impact on their health, social, and academic functioning. Whilst the experience of negative consequences of substance use is well understood in North American student samples, there is little data on these experiences in European students. In order to develop effective harm prevention and reduction interventions for students’ substance use, there needs to be an understanding of the types of consequences experienced in European student samples. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and predictors of the experience of negative substance use-related consequences amongst university students in 7 European countries. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> University students (<i>n</i> = 4,482) in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Turkey, and the UK completed an online survey of their substance use behaviours and the experience of associated negative consequences. <b><i>Results:</i></b> European students reported that experiencing a hangover or illness, missing class, being short of money, and experiencing memory loss were the most commonly experienced negative consequences of substance use. Not living with other students and using alcohol, cannabis, sedatives, and cocaine were also associated with higher odds of experiencing these negative consequences. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> In contrast to North American data, European university students tended to experience consequences that are associated with lower level health risks rather than more severe consequences (e.g., drink-driving and physical injury). Harm prevention and reduction interventions for students should be targeted towards those consequences that are most salient to the target group to ensure feedback is relevant and potentially more effective in changing students’ substance use behaviours.

Communication Strategies to Combat COVID-19 Vaccines Hesitancy

2021 ◽  
pp. 72-85
Author(s):  
Destaw Bayable Yemer ◽  
Minwuyelet Andualem Desta ◽  
Melaku Bayu Workie
Keyword(s):  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
Communication Techniques ◽  
Social Media Platforms

COVID-19 infectious disease resulted in a pandemic that has threatened millions of people in the world. It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), and it has created a global health crisis. Hence, the present study aimed at assessing communication strategies used by Ethiopian Public Health Institute and Ministry of Health to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, make analysis of vaccination messages, and hybrid media messages to label best practices of communication techniques to address vaccine hesitancy. To attain this objective, a qualitative research method was employed to analyze messages that were disseminated with the hybrid national and regional media and social media platforms. MOH and EPHI disseminated messages; ministers, prominent people, opinion leaders and activists’ speeches used as subjects of the study. COVID-19 vaccination messages were selected through purposive sampling method. The contents of messages regarding health communication were analyzed. The finding showed that building COVID-19 vaccine acceptance through effective communication is important to stop the spread of the virus. The participatory and presumptive style communications are the possible method to promote COVID-19 vaccination before it reaches on refusal stage. Moreover, the results revealed that communication strategies contributed to vaccine advocacy and vaccination campaign to improve vaccine acceptance. MOH and EPHI used the hybrid media to mold the unscientific information and the misinformation of the vaccine. In sum, using effective communication strategies is very important to create awareness about COVID-19 vaccines, and avoid vaccine hesitation to strength the public vaccines acceptability.

scholarly journals Psychological Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among Healthcare Workers in Kuwait: A Cross-Sectional Study Using the 5C and Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scales

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 701
Author(s):  
Mariam Al-Sanafi ◽  
Malik Sallam
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
General Public ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Psychological Determinants ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs

Acceptance of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination appears as a decisive factor necessary to control the ongoing pandemic. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are among the highest risk groups for infection. The current study aimed to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among HCWs in Kuwait, with identification of the psychological determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The study was conducted using an online anonymous survey distributed between 18 March 2021 and 29 March 2021. The sampling strategy was convenience-based depending on chain-referral sampling. Psychological determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance were assessed using the 5C subscales and the Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (VCBS). The total number of study participants was 1019, with the largest group being physicians (28.7%), pharmacists (20.2%), dentists (16.7%), and nurses (12.5%). The overall rate for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was 83.3%, with 9.0% who were not willing to accept vaccination and 7.7% who were unsure. The highest rate for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was seen among dentists (91.2%) and physicians (90.4%), while the lowest rate was seen among nurses (70.1%; p < 0.001). A higher level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was found among females, participants with a lower educational level, and HCWs in the private sector. A preference for mRNA vaccine technology and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was found among the majority of participants (62.6% and 69.7%, respectively). COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was significantly linked to the embrace of vaccine conspiracy beliefs. The highest 5C psychological predictors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance were high levels of collective responsibility and confidence, and lower levels of constraints and calculation. The VCBS and 5C subscales (except the calculation subscale) showed acceptable levels of predicting COVID-19 vaccine acceptance based on receiver operating characteristic analyses. The participants who depended on social media platforms, TV programs, and news releases as their main sources of knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines showed higher rates of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. An overall satisfactory level of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was seen among HCWs in Kuwait, which was among the highest rates reported globally. However; higher levels of vaccine hesitancy were observed among certain groups (females, nurses and laboratory workers, HCWs in the private sector), which should be targeted with more focused awareness programs. HCWs in Kuwait can play a central role in educating their patients and the general public about the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination to halt the spread of SARS-CoV-2, considering the high rates of vaccine hesitancy observed among the general public in Kuwait and the Middle East.

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