The impact of health status on attitudes toward COVID‐19 vaccination
Abstract Background and Aims The COVID‐19 outbreak has had an overwhelming effect on societies' access to essential services. Human‐to‐human transmission facilitates the spread of the disease, as do other conditions, such as temperature. Individuals with underlying health conditions are at incr...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Health Science Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.744 |
| _version_ | 1828154025035431936 |
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| author | Ashraf Mustafa Mohammed Safi Maxwell P. Opoku Ahmed M. Mohamed |
| author_facet | Ashraf Mustafa Mohammed Safi Maxwell P. Opoku Ahmed M. Mohamed |
| author_sort | Ashraf Mustafa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background and Aims The COVID‐19 outbreak has had an overwhelming effect on societies' access to essential services. Human‐to‐human transmission facilitates the spread of the disease, as do other conditions, such as temperature. Individuals with underlying health conditions are at increased risk of acquiring and suffering the devastating effects of COVID‐19. Consequently, vaccine manufacturing was envisaged as a milestone toward “normalizing” the world. While scholarly attention has focused on attitudes toward vaccination, the relationship between health status and attitudes toward vaccination is understudied. This study attempted to fill this knowledge gap by assessing the impact of health status on attitudes toward the COVID‐19 vaccine. Methods We developed a 26‐item questionnaire titled “Attitudes toward COVID‐19 Vaccination Scale” for data collection. A total of 1047 school or university staff members from 22 countries completed the questionnaire. The data were initially validated using exploratory factor analysis to determine its structure and subsequently analyzed using SPSS version 28. Two‐way factorial analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis were performed to understand the influence of health status on attitudes toward vaccination. Results The results showed a direct effect of health status on attitudes toward COVID‐19 vaccination, (Step 1; β = 0.11, p = 0.001; Step 2: β = 0.10, p = 0.001). In Step 2 also, vaccination status (β = 0.22, p = 0.001) and place of residence (β = −0.08, p = 0.04) also influenced attitudes towards vaccination. Health status also moderated the relation between attitude and education level (F[3, 1038] = 3.04) of participants. Conclusion Results show possible fear and hesitancy toward COVID‐19 vaccination among those with underlying health conditions. Therefore, expeditious sensitization programs may be needed to promote the importance of vaccination for developing resistance against COVID‐19 and vaccine acceptance. However, such initiatives should target vulnerable groups in society. Policymakers could focus on improving sensitization toward COVID‐19 vaccination among those living with underlying health conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:33:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd217828f188475cbfcf6273bb9ae813 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-8835 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:33:21Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Science Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd217828f188475cbfcf6273bb9ae8132022-12-22T03:59:17ZengWileyHealth Science Reports2398-88352022-07-0154n/an/a10.1002/hsr2.744The impact of health status on attitudes toward COVID‐19 vaccinationAshraf Mustafa0Mohammed Safi1Maxwell P. Opoku2Ahmed M. Mohamed3Department of Special Education, College of Education United Arab Emirates University Al Ain UAEDepartment of Speech and Language Pathology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences United Arab Emirates University Al Ain UAEDepartment of Special Education, College of Education United Arab Emirates University Al Ain UAEDepartment of Special Education, College of Education United Arab Emirates University Al Ain UAEAbstract Background and Aims The COVID‐19 outbreak has had an overwhelming effect on societies' access to essential services. Human‐to‐human transmission facilitates the spread of the disease, as do other conditions, such as temperature. Individuals with underlying health conditions are at increased risk of acquiring and suffering the devastating effects of COVID‐19. Consequently, vaccine manufacturing was envisaged as a milestone toward “normalizing” the world. While scholarly attention has focused on attitudes toward vaccination, the relationship between health status and attitudes toward vaccination is understudied. This study attempted to fill this knowledge gap by assessing the impact of health status on attitudes toward the COVID‐19 vaccine. Methods We developed a 26‐item questionnaire titled “Attitudes toward COVID‐19 Vaccination Scale” for data collection. A total of 1047 school or university staff members from 22 countries completed the questionnaire. The data were initially validated using exploratory factor analysis to determine its structure and subsequently analyzed using SPSS version 28. Two‐way factorial analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis were performed to understand the influence of health status on attitudes toward vaccination. Results The results showed a direct effect of health status on attitudes toward COVID‐19 vaccination, (Step 1; β = 0.11, p = 0.001; Step 2: β = 0.10, p = 0.001). In Step 2 also, vaccination status (β = 0.22, p = 0.001) and place of residence (β = −0.08, p = 0.04) also influenced attitudes towards vaccination. Health status also moderated the relation between attitude and education level (F[3, 1038] = 3.04) of participants. Conclusion Results show possible fear and hesitancy toward COVID‐19 vaccination among those with underlying health conditions. Therefore, expeditious sensitization programs may be needed to promote the importance of vaccination for developing resistance against COVID‐19 and vaccine acceptance. However, such initiatives should target vulnerable groups in society. Policymakers could focus on improving sensitization toward COVID‐19 vaccination among those living with underlying health conditions.https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.744attitudesCOVID‐19health statusvaccination |
| spellingShingle | Ashraf Mustafa Mohammed Safi Maxwell P. Opoku Ahmed M. Mohamed The impact of health status on attitudes toward COVID‐19 vaccination Health Science Reports attitudes COVID‐19 health status vaccination |
| title | The impact of health status on attitudes toward COVID‐19 vaccination |
| title_full | The impact of health status on attitudes toward COVID‐19 vaccination |
| title_fullStr | The impact of health status on attitudes toward COVID‐19 vaccination |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of health status on attitudes toward COVID‐19 vaccination |
| title_short | The impact of health status on attitudes toward COVID‐19 vaccination |
| title_sort | impact of health status on attitudes toward covid 19 vaccination |
| topic | attitudes COVID‐19 health status vaccination |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.744 |
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