COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in adults in the United Kingdom: Barriers and facilitators to uptake.

Abstract

Objective: Immunization is a primary method for addressing COVID-19. Uptake in high-risk groups has been strong, however, vaccination hesitancy is more prominent among younger adults. This research sought to identify the factors influencing vaccine uptake in 18–55-year-olds. Method: Study 1, a qualitative survey (n = 80), identified beliefs about COVID vaccines and immunization programs. Study 2 (n = 473) tested whether the factors identified in study 1 predicted intention for self-vaccination and parental intention to vaccinate children. Data on vaccination behavior was obtained in Study 3 (n = 309). Results: Analysis showed individuals recognized the benefits of vaccination as a path to “return to normality” and “protect others” but concerns, such as side-effects to fertility, were apparent and for some, the personal value in vaccination was questioned. Data were interpreted as largely reflective of Health Belief Model constructs. Study 2 supported this interpretation. Specifically, Benefits of, and Barriers to, vaccination predicted intention to vaccinate oneself and their children, across Black, Asian, other minority groups (BAME) and White communities. Additionally, for BAME communities, cues to action positively predicted intention. For vaccine behavior, benefits of, and Barriers to, vaccination remained relevant in predicting vaccination behaviors, along with susceptivity and severity of COVID (no differences between ethnic communities were found). Willingness to vaccinate children decreases as the age of the child is reduced. Conclusions: Addressing vaccine hesitancy is crucial to managing COVID-19. Findings indicate emphasizing specific benefits, such as protecting others, while addressing barriers, including side-effect misinformation, is key to driving vaccine uptake.

Introduction to the special issue on vaccine hesitancy and refusal.

“…The other 11 papers in this special issue present novel research findings across a wide range of aspects of health psychology and vaccination practice. Most of them focus exclusively on COVID-19 (Bogg et al, 2023; Buscemi et al, 2023; Delporte et al, 2023; Eberhardt and Ling, 2023; Husted et al, 2023; Ku et al, 2023; Martin et al, 2023; Preis et al, 2023; Warren et al, 2023), but others concern influenza (Bender et al, 2023; Brumbaugh et al, 2023) and HPV vaccines (Brumbaugh et al, 2023). Six of the research articles (Bogg et al, 2023; Brumbaugh et al, 2023; Buscemi et al, 2023; Martin et al, 2023; Preis et al, 2023; Warren et al, 2023) report on studies conducted in the United States, while two (Eberhardt and Ling, 2023; Husted et al, 2023) were conducted in the United Kingdom, one (Bender et al, 2023) in Germany, one (Delporte et al, 2023) in Belgium, and one (Ku et al, 2023) in South Korea.…”

“…Two U.K.-based studies (Eberhardt and Ling, 2023; Husted et al, 2023) assessed a broad range of barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccine intention and uptake. Eberhardt and Ling (2023) focused on constructs from the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), especially conspiracy theory beliefs, in their research.…”

“…Husted et al (2023) used a three-phase mixed methods study to examine drivers of vaccine intention and uptake. A key finding from this study is that cues to action were positively associated with vaccine intention during the period before vaccine availability, but once vaccines became available, cues to action were not associated with vaccination outcomes.…”

Intention to vaccinate for Lyme disease using the Health Belief Model

“…The HBM has also been used to identify key drivers of the intention to vaccinate against seasonal Influenza (Chen et al, 2011;Fall et al, 2018), HPV (Donadiki et al, 2014;Gerend & Shepherd, 2012), H1N1 Influenza (Fabry et al, 2011;Yang, 2015) and COVID-19 (Ellithorpe et al, 2022;Guidry et al, 2021;Husted et al, 2023;Shmueli, 2021;Wong et al, 2021;Zampetakis & Melas, 2021), but has yet to be applied to the intention to vaccinate against LD.…”

“…(2016) found that awareness and knowledge about the disease, the benefits of preventative behaviour and confidence in the ability to perform preventative behaviours ultimately improved precautionary behaviour. The HBM has also been used to identify key drivers of the intention to vaccinate against seasonal Influenza (Chen et al., 2011; Fall et al., 2018), HPV (Donadiki et al., 2014; Gerend & Shepherd, 2012), H1N1 Influenza (Fabry et al., 2011; Yang, 2015) and COVID‐19 (Ellithorpe et al., 2022; Guidry et al., 2021; Husted et al., 2023; Shmueli, 2021; Wong et al., 2021; Zampetakis & Melas, 2021), but has yet to be applied to the intention to vaccinate against LD.…”