Al-Hasan Abrar, Khuntia Jiban, Yim Dobin
College of Business Administration, Kuwait University, AlShadadiyah City, Kuwait.
CU Denver Business School, Information Systems Department, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, United States.
Front Public Health. 2021 Nov 2;9:715931. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.715931. eCollection 2021.
Widespread acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination is the next major step in fighting the pandemic. However, significant variations are observed in the willingness to take the vaccination by citizens across different countries. Arguably, differences in vaccination intentions will be influenced by beliefs around vaccines to influence health. Often perceptions of what others are doing and the information available guide individuals' behaviors for vaccination. This is more so in the digital age with the influence of the internet and media. This study aims to determine the factors that impact willingness to vaccinate for COVID-19. We examined factors associated with acceptance of vaccine based on (1) constructs of the Health Belief Model (HBM), (2) sources of information, (3) social media usage, (4) knowledge of COVID-19 treatment, and (5) perception of government's efforts for mitigation. Randomly sampled online survey data was collected by a global firm between December 2020 and January 2021 from 372 citizens (with a response rate of 96.6%) from multiple regions, including North America, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Ordered probit regression suggests that the health belief model constructs hold. Perceived severity of COVID-19 ( < 0.001) and action cues of others taking the vaccine positively influences a subject's vaccine intent ( < 0.001), perceived benefits and perceived efficacy of the vaccine positively influences a subject's vaccine intent ( < 0.001). Perceived barriers negatively influence vaccine intent ( < 0.001). Interestingly as for media usage, mainstream media (e.g., TV, newspaper) ( = 0.006) and social media ( = 0.013) both negatively influence a subject's vaccine intent. Social media platforms that are more entertainment and social-based, such as Whatsapp, Instagram, and YouTube, have a negative and significant influence on vaccine intent ( = 0.061), compared to other more information-based social media platforms (e.g., Twitter, LinkedIn). Knowledge of COVID-19 treatment positively influences vaccine intent ( = 0.023). Lastly, governmental efforts' perceived reliability in mitigation strategy ( = 0.028) and response efforts ( = 0.004) negatively influence vaccine intent. The study highlights the "wait-and-see" action cue from others and leaders in the community. It also informs the importance of shaping media information for vaccination through informative media and social media outlets to counteract any misinformation.
广泛接受新冠疫苗接种是抗击疫情的下一个重要步骤。然而，不同国家公民接种疫苗的意愿存在显著差异。可以说，接种意愿的差异将受到围绕疫苗影响健康的信念的影响。人们对他人行为的认知以及可得信息往往会引导个体的疫苗接种行为。在互联网和媒体的影响下，数字时代更是如此。本研究旨在确定影响新冠疫苗接种意愿的因素。我们基于以下方面研究了与疫苗接受度相关的因素：（1）健康信念模型（HBM）的构成要素；（2）信息来源；（3）社交媒体使用情况；（4）新冠治疗知识；（5）对政府缓解措施努力的认知。2020年12月至2021年1月期间，一家全球公司从北美、中东、欧洲和亚洲等多个地区随机抽取了372名公民进行在线调查（回复率为96.6%）。有序概率回归表明健康信念模型的构成要素成立。对新冠严重程度的认知（<0.001）以及他人接种疫苗的行动线索对受试者的疫苗接种意愿有积极影响（<0.001），疫苗的感知益处和感知效力对受试者的疫苗接种意愿有积极影响（<0.001）。感知到的障碍对疫苗接种意愿有负面影响（<0.001）。有趣的是，就媒体使用情况而言，主流媒体（如电视、报纸）（=0.006）和社交媒体（=0.013）均对受试者的疫苗接种意愿有负面影响。与其他更多基于信息的社交媒体平台（如推特、领英）相比，Whatsapp、Instagram和YouTube等更具娱乐性和社交性的社交媒体平台对疫苗接种意愿有负面且显著的影响（=0.061）。对新冠治疗的了解对疫苗接种意愿有积极影响（=0.023）。最后，政府缓解策略的感知可靠性（=0.028）和应对努力（=0.004）对疫苗接种意愿有负面影响。该研究突出了社区中他人和领导者的“观望”行动线索。它还说明了通过信息丰富的媒体和社交媒体渠道塑造疫苗接种媒体信息以抵消任何错误信息的重要性。
