The Relationship between Knowledge and Attitude toward COVID-19 Vaccine: Risk Perception & Confidence in Vaccine as Mediators

Abstract

Previous studies found mixed result regarding the effect of knowledge on attitude toward vaccine, however there were significant findings regarding the effect of risk perception and confidence in vaccine on attitude. This study was conducted to examine the impact of knowledge on attitude toward Covid-19 vaccine as mediated by risk perception and confidence in vaccine. We run mediation analysis to the data collected from N = 323 people using online survey. Participants are Indonesians aged >15 years, living in areas with relatively high cases of COVID-19, directly or indirectly affected by the pandemic, and never got the COVID-19 vaccination before. Results show that knowledge is positively predict attitude (B=.398, z=7.33, p<.001). Analyzing the indirect effects, results reveal significant mediation in the relationship between knowledge and attitude: risk perception (B=.108, z=3.85, p<.001, 95% CI, .0528 to .163) and confidence in vaccine (B=.174, z=4.65, p<.001, 95% CI, .10 to .247). Knowledge positively affects risk perception and confidence in vaccine. All mediators positively affect attitude toward Covid-19 vaccine. This partial mediation suggests that knowledge alone is an important factor that predicts attitude toward vaccine.