Factors influencing nursing students’ intention to accept COVID-19 vaccination – A pooled analysis of seven countries

Abstract

Experiencing the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, high vaccination coverage by a safe and effective vaccine globally would be a great achievement. Acceptance of vaccination by healthcare students is an important issue as they have a key role as future professionals in educating patients, informing and guiding them to the right clinical decision. The aim of this study was to explore the intention of nursing students to get vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 infection and the factors acting either as motivators or barriers towards vaccination. A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in 7 countries (Greece, Albania, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic and Kosovo) through a web survey. In total 2249 undergraduate nursing students participated. Forty three point eight percent of students agreed to accept a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, while the acceptance was higher among Italian students. The factors for intention to get vaccinated were male gender (p=0.008), no working experience in healthcare facilities during the pandemic (p=0.001), vaccination for influenza in 2019 and 2020 (p<0.001), trust in doctors (p<0.001), governments and experts (p=0.012), high level of knowledge (p<0.001) and fear of COVID-19 (p<0.001). Understanding of factors that influence students’ decision to accept COVID-19 vaccination could increase the acceptance rate contributing to a management of the pandemic.HighlightsLess than half of the sample intended to accept COVID-19 vaccinationFactors that influenced nursing students to get vaccinated against COVID-19 were male gender, no working experience in healthcare facilities during the pandemic, vaccination for influenza in 2019 and 2020, trust in doctors, governments and experts, high level of knowledge and fear of COVID-19.

Mistrust and Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories Differently Mediate the Effects of Psychological Factors on Propensity for COVID-19 Vaccine

“…Malik et al (2020) found that participants who had more trust in medicine got information from healthcare workers and health officials, whereas those who collected sources from social media had less trust in medical science. Similar results were found by Patelarou et al (2021), showing that those who got information from newspapers, television, radio, and government agencies had more trust in the COVID-19 vaccine than those who had self-perceived knowledge or collected information through social or online media. In fact, misinformation is more available on the internet where the information may be less accurate or verified (Liu and Yang, 2020;Obiała et al, 2020;Patelarou et al, 2021).…”

“…Similar results were found by Patelarou et al (2021), showing that those who got information from newspapers, television, radio, and government agencies had more trust in the COVID-19 vaccine than those who had self-perceived knowledge or collected information through social or online media. In fact, misinformation is more available on the internet where the information may be less accurate or verified (Liu and Yang, 2020;Obiała et al, 2020;Patelarou et al, 2021). Skeptics also use online platforms to advocate vaccine refusal.…”

“…In addition, hostility and anger increased as a response to quarantine and lockdown measures (Duan et al, 2020). In this weak psychological condition, the feelings of fear of dying, anguish, vulnerability, and insecurity that the person can experience could lead to higher levels of confidence in COVID-19 vaccination (Kang and Jung, 2020;Mannan and Farhana, 2020;Patelarou et al, 2021). However, anger and negative emotions were also related to lower levels of vaccine acceptance (Betsch and Böhm, 2016;Sun et al, 2021).…”

“…Studies on trust in vaccination and medicine generally focused on a single element or phenomenon more than a generalized trust (Larson et al, 2018). Instead, trust is a multilayered concept (Chryssochoidis et al, 2009), which includes sociocultural and personality factors, but also the perceptions of institutions, the health system, the capacity of science and pharmaceutical companies, and the reliability of the health professionals involved (Liu and Yang, 2020;Patelarou et al, 2021). As highlighted by some authors (Larson et al, 2018;Liu and Yang, 2020), in the context of vaccination, trust may be considered on three levels: trust in the product (e.g., hepatitis B vaccine), trust in the vaccine provider (e.g., healthcare professionals), and trust in policymakers (e.g., the government and the healthcare system).…”

“…Previous studies have shown that some sociodemographic factors are associated with vaccine hesitation or refusal. In particular, females tend to be hesitant and more skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccine (Lazarus et al, 2020;Mannan and Farhana, 2020;Lin et al, 2021;Murphy et al, 2021;Patelarou et al, 2021). Also, younger age, higher levels of education, and religious beliefs have been related to vaccine hesitancy and resistance (Malik et al, 2020, Palamenghi et al, 2020Lin et al, 2021;Murphy et al, 2021).…”