Factors Influencing Public Attitudes towards COVID-19 Vaccination: A Scoping Review Informed by the Socio-Ecological Model

Abstract

Major hindrances to getting a COVID-19 vaccine include vaccine hesitancy, skepticism, refusal, and anti-vaccine movements. Several studies have been conducted on attitudes of the public towards COVID-19 vaccines and the potential influencing factors. The purpose of this scoping review is to summarize the data available on the various factors influencing public attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. This scoping review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Statement. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central were searched without restrictions to reclaim all publications on the factors that shape individuals’ attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines from 1 January 2020 to 15 February 2021. Fifty studies were included. The scoping review revealed that the factors influencing public attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines were embedded within the different levels of the socio-ecological model. These factors included the sociodemographic characteristics of the individuals, individual factors, social and organizational factors. In addition, certain characteristics of COVID-19 vaccines themselves influenced public attitudes towards accepting the vaccines. Understanding various population needs and the factors shaping public attitudes towards the vaccines would support planning for evidence-based multilevel interventions in order to enhance global vaccine uptake.

Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in School Principals: Impacts of Gender, Well-Being, and Coronavirus-Related Health Literacy

“…The COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in school principals could be influenced by socio-demographic and health beliefs as found in a previous study conducted on the schoolteachers [ 37 ]. Social and organizational factors were also found to have certain influences on the public’s attitude toward vaccines [ 21 ].…”

“…This was similar to previous evidence such that transparently informing people of the vaccination limitations did not affect vaccination intentions [ 83 ]. In addition, the characteristics of different vaccines potentially influenced the attitudes of the public towards vaccine acceptance [ 21 ]. People hesitated to receive a COVID-19 vaccine because of other reasons, e.g., fears of injection [ 84 ], or concerns about vaccine efficacy and fear of side effects [ 78 ].…”

“…The Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy questionnaire was developed to assess the willingness to take an approved COVID-19 vaccine [ 13 ]. The sum score of 7 items was used for analysis and interpretation [ 13 ], instead of using only one question and categorical values in other studies [ 10 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

Communicating COVID-19 Vaccine Safety: Knowledge and Attitude Among Residents of South East, Nigeria

“…In addition, certain characteristics of the COVID-19 vaccines themselves like efficacy, safety, and side effects influence public attitudes. 38 …”

“…33 Researchers have adduced reasons behind spreading of rumors, fake news, refusal of vaccine acceptance and vaccine hesitancy globally with regard to COVID-19 vaccine. [34][35][36][37][38] Thus, reasons such as: Vaccine susceptibility, risk perception, and reaction [39][40][41][42][43][44] certain religious beliefs, lack of knowledge and awareness. [45][46][47][48][49] Likewise other reasons from Nigeria setting and other countries, such as poor health literacy 50,51 conflicts and insecurities, 52 distrust in governments and firms that manufacture the vaccines 49,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59] remain a serious challenge.…”