Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Mental Health Center of Zhejiang Province, No. 234 Gucui Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
BMC Psychiatry. 2021 Sep 29;21(1):475. doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03484-9.
The COVID-19 pandemic has become a global health catastrophe. By far, there has been no specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19. Developing a vaccine against COVID-19 appeared to be the most cost-effective strategy to stop the repeated outbreak. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of psychiatric patients with regards to COVID-19 vaccination and potential factors that might influence their decision-making process.
Psychiatric patients participated in this cross-sectional survey in China. Family caregivers, usually a guardian or next of kin completed the questionnaire when the patient is unable to consent. Data was collected via an online self-administered questionnaire. This questionnaire focused on four main attributes: (1) sociology-demographic characteristics, such as age and sex; (2) questions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as perceived risk of COVID-19; (3) Flu vaccination history; and (4) attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination and affected factors, such as preferred vaccine type and vaccination site. The associated factors that influenced vaccination acceptance were analyzed by Chi-square analysis and binary logistic regression.
In total, 416 individuals were recruited, from which 408: 229 patients and 179 family caregivers completed the online survey (response rate: 98.1%). 78.7% of the participants (178 patients and 143 family caregivers) said they intended to receive vaccination once the COVID-19 vaccine became available on the market. Our results showed that participants would have a greater likelihood of joining the COVID-9 immunization programme if the people they knew (community residents or their friends and relatives) presented with high vaccine coverage (OR = 0.24; 95% CI:0.09-0.59). If the pandemic returns, participants were also more likely to accept vaccination (OR = 0.21; 95% CI:0.07-0.62). Moreover, those who believed that the vaccination was an important way to control the COVID-19 pandemic also showed a tendency to receive vaccination (OR = 0.21; 95% CI:0.11-0.40). For those who did not intend to get vaccinated either for themselves or their psychiatric family member, the safety of vaccine was their main concern (71.3%).
This study showed a high acceptance rate for COVID-19 vaccination amongst psychiatric patients, while worries about the safety of vaccine led to refusal towards vaccination. To increase vaccination uptake amongst this vulnerable group, the public health messaging should include updated vaccination coverage in local communities, and the number of newly COVID-19 infected cases. Specific information about vaccine safety concerning psychiatric patients; as well as the importance of vaccination in controlling the pandemic should be explained in detail.
COVID-19 大流行已成为全球健康灾难。到目前为止，尚无针对 COVID-19 的特定抗病毒治疗方法。开发 COVID-19 疫苗似乎是阻止疫情反复爆发的最具成本效益的策略。本研究旨在调查精神科患者对 COVID-19 疫苗接种的态度以及可能影响其决策过程的潜在因素。
精神科患者参与了中国的这项横断面调查。当患者无法同意时，通常由监护人或近亲完成家庭护理人员填写问卷。数据通过在线自我管理问卷收集。该问卷主要集中在四个主要属性上：（1）社会学人口统计学特征，例如年龄和性别；（2）与 COVID-19 大流行相关的问题，例如对 COVID-19 的感知风险；（3）流感疫苗接种史；（4）对 COVID-19 疫苗接种的态度以及影响因素，例如首选疫苗类型和接种地点。通过卡方分析和二元逻辑回归分析了影响疫苗接种接受程度的相关因素。
总共招募了 416 人，其中 408 人完成了在线调查：229 名患者和 179 名家庭护理人员（应答率：98.1％）。78.7％的参与者（178 名患者和 143 名家庭护理人员）表示，一旦 COVID-19 疫苗上市，他们打算接种疫苗。我们的研究结果表明，如果他们认识的人（社区居民或他们的朋友和亲戚）具有较高的疫苗接种率，他们更有可能加入 COVID-9 免疫计划（OR=0.24；95％CI：0.09-0.59）。如果大流行再次发生，参与者也更有可能接受疫苗接种（OR=0.21；95％CI：0.07-0.62）。此外，那些认为疫苗接种是控制 COVID-19 大流行的重要手段的人也倾向于接受疫苗接种（OR=0.21；95％CI：0.11-0.40）。对于那些既不打算为自己也不打算为精神科家庭成员接种疫苗的人来说，疫苗的安全性是他们主要关注的问题（71.3％）。
本研究表明，精神科患者对 COVID-19 疫苗接种的接受率很高，而对疫苗安全性的担忧导致了对疫苗接种的拒绝。为了提高这一弱势群体的疫苗接种率，应在当地社区中包括最新的疫苗接种覆盖率和新感染 COVID-19 的人数等公共卫生信息。应详细说明有关精神科患者疫苗安全性的具体信息，以及疫苗接种在控制大流行中的重要性。
