COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Health Professional Students: Cross-Sectional Data from the First Wave of the HOLISTIC Cohort Study

Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy has been observed around the world, but there is a paucity of data among a broad range of U.S. health professional students. The goal of this report is to present findings about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among a cross-section of U.S. health professional students and determine if hesitancy varies by demographic characteristics, health science college, and other factors. A cross-sectional analysis of HOLISTIC Cohort Study participants enrolled from April 14 2021 to May 5 2021 at seven health sciences colleges in the University of Illinois Chicago was used. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate vaccine hesitancy items and identify domains. Among 555 health professional students, three domains (perceived benefit, trustworthiness, and risk) contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Significant differences were observed in the domains among students of different races as well as vaccination history. Compared to students in the College of Medicine, students in the Colleges of Applied Health Science (OR 0.43; CI [0.19–0.96]), Pharmacy (OR 0.38; CI [0.17–0.87]), Nursing (OR 0.35; CI [0.16–0.78]), and Social Work (OR 0.30; CI [0.11–0.78]) reported lower perceived benefit. Compared to students in the College of Medicine, students in the College of Applied Health Sciences (OR 0.39; CI [0.17–0.94]), Dentistry (OR 0.27; CI [0.10–0.76]), Nursing (OR 0.38; CI [0.16–0.94]), and Social work (OR 0.31; CI [0.11–0.86]) reported more trustworthiness and more concerns about risk (OR 2.80; CI [1.15–6.81] for College of Applied Health Sciences, OR 9.12; CI [2.80–29.75] for Dentistry, OR 3.77; CI [1.47–9.65] for Nursing, OR 3.14; CI [1.02–9.67] for Social Work). Our findings suggest the need for a tailored vaccination strategy among different subgroups of health professional students.

Health professional students at the University of Illinois Chicago (HOLISTIC) Cohort study: Prevalence of mental health and lifestyle behaviors effects among health professional students during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The HOLISTIC Cohort Study enrolled students across seven health science colleges (applied health sciences, dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, and social work) at the University of Illinois Chicago, a U.S. Department of Education designated minority-serving institution. 34 Students were eligible to enroll in the HOLISTIC Cohort Study if they were age 18 years or older and enrolled full-or part-time in a health science program that prepares its graduates to enter a healthcare profession.…”

Vaccinating without complete willingness against COVID‐19: Personal and social aspects of Israeli nursing students and faculty members

“…The issue of race and ethnicity is arising worldwide; Drobniewski et al (2022) identified a greater reluctance to be vaccinated among healthcare students from ethnic communities. Moreover, in a study by Loizzo et al (2022), an increased concern about the risk of taking the new COVID-19 vaccine was presented by Asian and Hispanic American health students. Similarly, a significantly smaller proportion of healthcare professionals of ethnic minorities were vaccinated than white workers (Martin et al, 2021).…”