Perception of youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards the Malaysia national Covid-19 immunisation programme (PICK)

As a measure to curb the deadly Covid-19 virus, the Malaysian government has implemented the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) in early February 2021 to achieve herd immunity by February 2022. However, several factors have influenced the success of the programme, including accessibilit...

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Main Authors: Ramli Dollah, Adi Jafar, Eko Prayitno Joko, Nordin Sakke, Mohammad Tahir Mapa, Colonius Atang, Chong, Vun Hung, Fionna George
Format: Article
Language:English
English
Published: Mahidol University, Thailand 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/33511/1/Perception%20of%20youth%20in%20East%20Malaysia%20%28Sabah%29%20towards%20the%20Malaysia%20national%20Covid-19%20immunisation%20programme%20%28PICK%29.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/33511/3/Perception%20of%20youth%20in%20East%20Malaysia%20%28Sabah%29%20towards%20the%20Malaysia%20national%20Covid-19%20immunisation%20programme%20%28PICK%29%20_ABSTRACT.pdf
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author Ramli Dollah
Adi Jafar
Eko Prayitno Joko
Nordin Sakke
Mohammad Tahir Mapa
Colonius Atang
Chong, Vun Hung
Fionna George
author_facet Ramli Dollah
Adi Jafar
Eko Prayitno Joko
Nordin Sakke
Mohammad Tahir Mapa
Colonius Atang
Chong, Vun Hung
Fionna George
author_sort Ramli Dollah
collection UMS
description As a measure to curb the deadly Covid-19 virus, the Malaysian government has implemented the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) in early February 2021 to achieve herd immunity by February 2022. However, several factors have influenced the success of the programme, including accessibility, the role of social media, religious concerns and a variety of other reasons. Therefore, this paper determines the factors that influence the perceptions of the youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards PICK. This study uses a self-administered questionnaire through social media applications. A total of 814 respondents consisting of youths in Sabah aged between 18-40 years have been sampled. The raw data have been descriptively analysed (K-Means Clustering, Mean & frequency) and inferentially examined (Mann-Whitney U Test). The respondents’ perceptions are grouped into two clusters: Cluster 1 (54.3%) who exhibited vaccine hesitancy, and Cluster 2 (45.7%), who demonstrated positive perceptions towards the programme. Based on the cluster analysis, this study discovered that most of the respondents in Cluster 1 are inclined to not participate in PICK due to several factors, such as Safety (M=3.25, SD=0.578), Communication (M=3.37, SD=0.441), Psychology (M=3.40, SD=0.568) and Milieu (M=3.32, SD=0.545). The cluster analysis is important to determine different patterns of perceptions of youth in Sabah. This paper argues that if vaccine hesitancy, as indicated in the cluster 1 is not properly addressed, the government’s target to achieve herd immunity will not be successful. Apparently, information issues and management through the mainstream media are extremely important, especially in handling critical matters. As a result, there is a need to revisit the mainstream media's role and determine the causes that contribute to the youths’ rejection of government-sponsored initiatives. The findings will be useful for the government so as to implement the necessary policies, adjustments and improvements to future health regulations or campaigns, especially in addressing issues of misinformation related to health management in the digital era.
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spelling ums.eprints-335112022-07-23T03:13:36Z https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/33511/ Perception of youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards the Malaysia national Covid-19 immunisation programme (PICK) Ramli Dollah Adi Jafar Eko Prayitno Joko Nordin Sakke Mohammad Tahir Mapa Colonius Atang Chong, Vun Hung Fionna George QR180-189.5 Immunology As a measure to curb the deadly Covid-19 virus, the Malaysian government has implemented the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) in early February 2021 to achieve herd immunity by February 2022. However, several factors have influenced the success of the programme, including accessibility, the role of social media, religious concerns and a variety of other reasons. Therefore, this paper determines the factors that influence the perceptions of the youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards PICK. This study uses a self-administered questionnaire through social media applications. A total of 814 respondents consisting of youths in Sabah aged between 18-40 years have been sampled. The raw data have been descriptively analysed (K-Means Clustering, Mean & frequency) and inferentially examined (Mann-Whitney U Test). The respondents’ perceptions are grouped into two clusters: Cluster 1 (54.3%) who exhibited vaccine hesitancy, and Cluster 2 (45.7%), who demonstrated positive perceptions towards the programme. Based on the cluster analysis, this study discovered that most of the respondents in Cluster 1 are inclined to not participate in PICK due to several factors, such as Safety (M=3.25, SD=0.578), Communication (M=3.37, SD=0.441), Psychology (M=3.40, SD=0.568) and Milieu (M=3.32, SD=0.545). The cluster analysis is important to determine different patterns of perceptions of youth in Sabah. This paper argues that if vaccine hesitancy, as indicated in the cluster 1 is not properly addressed, the government’s target to achieve herd immunity will not be successful. Apparently, information issues and management through the mainstream media are extremely important, especially in handling critical matters. As a result, there is a need to revisit the mainstream media's role and determine the causes that contribute to the youths’ rejection of government-sponsored initiatives. The findings will be useful for the government so as to implement the necessary policies, adjustments and improvements to future health regulations or campaigns, especially in addressing issues of misinformation related to health management in the digital era. Mahidol University, Thailand 2022 Article PeerReviewed text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/33511/1/Perception%20of%20youth%20in%20East%20Malaysia%20%28Sabah%29%20towards%20the%20Malaysia%20national%20Covid-19%20immunisation%20programme%20%28PICK%29.pdf text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/33511/3/Perception%20of%20youth%20in%20East%20Malaysia%20%28Sabah%29%20towards%20the%20Malaysia%20national%20Covid-19%20immunisation%20programme%20%28PICK%29%20_ABSTRACT.pdf Ramli Dollah and Adi Jafar and Eko Prayitno Joko and Nordin Sakke and Mohammad Tahir Mapa and Colonius Atang and Chong, Vun Hung and Fionna George (2022) Perception of youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards the Malaysia national Covid-19 immunisation programme (PICK). Journal of Public Health and Development, 20. pp. 203-217. ISSN 2673-0774 (P-ISSN) , 2651-1258 (E-ISSN) https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/AIHD-MU/article/view/254518 https://doi.org/10.55131/jphd/2022/200116 https://doi.org/10.55131/jphd/2022/200116
spellingShingle QR180-189.5 Immunology
Ramli Dollah
Adi Jafar
Eko Prayitno Joko
Nordin Sakke
Mohammad Tahir Mapa
Colonius Atang
Chong, Vun Hung
Fionna George
Perception of youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards the Malaysia national Covid-19 immunisation programme (PICK)
title Perception of youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards the Malaysia national Covid-19 immunisation programme (PICK)
title_full Perception of youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards the Malaysia national Covid-19 immunisation programme (PICK)
title_fullStr Perception of youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards the Malaysia national Covid-19 immunisation programme (PICK)
title_full_unstemmed Perception of youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards the Malaysia national Covid-19 immunisation programme (PICK)
title_short Perception of youth in East Malaysia (Sabah) towards the Malaysia national Covid-19 immunisation programme (PICK)
title_sort perception of youth in east malaysia sabah towards the malaysia national covid 19 immunisation programme pick
topic QR180-189.5 Immunology
url https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/33511/1/Perception%20of%20youth%20in%20East%20Malaysia%20%28Sabah%29%20towards%20the%20Malaysia%20national%20Covid-19%20immunisation%20programme%20%28PICK%29.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/33511/3/Perception%20of%20youth%20in%20East%20Malaysia%20%28Sabah%29%20towards%20the%20Malaysia%20national%20Covid-19%20immunisation%20programme%20%28PICK%29%20_ABSTRACT.pdf
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