Vaccine Hesitancy in College Students
(1) Background: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine hesitancy has become an increasingly important topic and has created significant concerns in public health. It is important to explore vaccine hesitancy among college students as they have been identified to be a high-risk group for COVID-19 t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Vaccines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/7/1243 |
| _version_ | 1797587300938416128 |
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| author | Emily Gilbert-Esparza Amelia Brady Sierrah Haas Heather Wittstruck Jennifer Miller Qing Kang Ellyn R. Mulcahy |
| author_facet | Emily Gilbert-Esparza Amelia Brady Sierrah Haas Heather Wittstruck Jennifer Miller Qing Kang Ellyn R. Mulcahy |
| author_sort | Emily Gilbert-Esparza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | (1) Background: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine hesitancy has become an increasingly important topic and has created significant concerns in public health. It is important to explore vaccine hesitancy among college students as they have been identified to be a high-risk group for COVID-19 transmission. This study aims to investigate COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in college students on a midsized midwestern university campus. (2) Methods: Data were collected from 311 undergraduate and graduate college students during June and July 2021. Participants completed a survey on COVID-19 vaccine behaviors, perceptions, and opinions. Quantitative and qualitative analysis was performed to identify vaccine hesitancy and influencing factors in the student population. (3) Results: The results of this study demonstrated significant relationships between older and younger undergraduate students (OR > 1, <i>p</i> < 0.05), students who received a yearly influenza vaccine and those that did not (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and students who had a previous COVID-19 infection and those that did not (OR > 1, <i>p</i> < 0.05). We also determined a significant difference between some racial/ethnic groups and vaccine hesitancy status. (4) Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy exists on college campuses, and is influenced by age and student status, influenza vaccination status, previous COVID-19 infection, and race/ethnicity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:34:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-65aa6ea4917140d9ae6fad2f4bfbf8b0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:34:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj.art-65aa6ea4917140d9ae6fad2f4bfbf8b02023-11-18T21:41:38ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2023-07-01117124310.3390/vaccines11071243Vaccine Hesitancy in College StudentsEmily Gilbert-Esparza0Amelia Brady1Sierrah Haas2Heather Wittstruck3Jennifer Miller4Qing Kang5Ellyn R. Mulcahy6Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Topeka, KS 66612, USAMaster of Public Health Program, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USAMaster of Public Health Program, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USAMaster of Public Health Program, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USAKansas Department of Health and Environment, Topeka, KS 66612, USADepartment of Statistics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USAMaster of Public Health Program, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA(1) Background: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine hesitancy has become an increasingly important topic and has created significant concerns in public health. It is important to explore vaccine hesitancy among college students as they have been identified to be a high-risk group for COVID-19 transmission. This study aims to investigate COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in college students on a midsized midwestern university campus. (2) Methods: Data were collected from 311 undergraduate and graduate college students during June and July 2021. Participants completed a survey on COVID-19 vaccine behaviors, perceptions, and opinions. Quantitative and qualitative analysis was performed to identify vaccine hesitancy and influencing factors in the student population. (3) Results: The results of this study demonstrated significant relationships between older and younger undergraduate students (OR > 1, <i>p</i> < 0.05), students who received a yearly influenza vaccine and those that did not (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and students who had a previous COVID-19 infection and those that did not (OR > 1, <i>p</i> < 0.05). We also determined a significant difference between some racial/ethnic groups and vaccine hesitancy status. (4) Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy exists on college campuses, and is influenced by age and student status, influenza vaccination status, previous COVID-19 infection, and race/ethnicity.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/7/1243vaccine hesitancyCOVID-19college studentspublic healthvaccines |
| spellingShingle | Emily Gilbert-Esparza Amelia Brady Sierrah Haas Heather Wittstruck Jennifer Miller Qing Kang Ellyn R. Mulcahy Vaccine Hesitancy in College Students Vaccines vaccine hesitancy COVID-19 college students public health vaccines |
| title | Vaccine Hesitancy in College Students |
| title_full | Vaccine Hesitancy in College Students |
| title_fullStr | Vaccine Hesitancy in College Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vaccine Hesitancy in College Students |
| title_short | Vaccine Hesitancy in College Students |
| title_sort | vaccine hesitancy in college students |
| topic | vaccine hesitancy COVID-19 college students public health vaccines |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/7/1243 |
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