Mangla Sherry, Zohra Makkia Fatima Tuz, Pathak Ashok Kumar, Robinson Renee, Sultana Nargis, Koonisetty Kranthi Swaroop, Karamehic-Muratovic Ajlina, Nguyen Uyen-Sa D T, Rodriguez-Morales Alfonso J, Sanchez-Duque Jorge A, Zamba Patrick T, Aghamohammadi Nasrin, Cs Fong, Haque Ubydul
International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai 400088, Maharashtra, India.
Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, 1200 Pressler Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2021 Oct 28;11(11):148. doi: 10.3390/bs11110148.
As the world tries to cope with the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and emerging variants of the virus, COVID-19 vaccination has become an even more critical tool toward normalcy. The effectiveness of the vaccination program and specifically vaccine uptake and coverage, however, is a function of an individual's knowledge and individual opinion about the disease and available vaccines. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and resulting community practice(s) associated with the new COVID-19 variants and vaccines in Bangladesh, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, and the USA. A cross-sectional web-based Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey was administered to respondents living in six different countries using a structured and multi-item questionnaire. Survey questions were translated into English, Spanish, and Malay to accommodate the local language in each country. Associations between KAP and a range of explanatory variables were assessed using univariate and multiple logistic regression. A total of 781 responses were included in the final analysis. The Knowledge score mean was 24 (out of 46), Attitude score 28.9 (out of 55), and Practice score 7.3 (out of 11). Almost 65% of the respondents reported being knowledgeable about COVID-19 variants and vaccination, 55% reported a positive attitude toward available COVID-19 vaccines, and 85% reported engaging in practices that supported COVID-19 vaccination. From the multiple logistic models, we found post-graduate education (AOR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.23-2.74) and an age range 45-54 years (AOR = 5.81, 95% CI: 2.30-14.69) to be significantly associated with reported COVID-19 knowledge. In addition, positive Attitude scores were associated with respondents living in Zimbabwe (AOR = 4.49, 95% CI: 2.04-9.90) and positive Practice scores were found to be associated with people from India (AOR = 3.68, 95% CI: 1.15-11.74) and high school education (AOR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.07-4.38). This study contributes to the identification of socio-demographic factors associated with poor knowledge, attitudes, and practices relating to COVID-19 variants and vaccines. It presents an opportunity for collaboration with diverse communities to address COVID-19 misinformation and common sources of vaccine hesitancy (i.e., knowledge, attitudes, and practices).
在全球努力应对新冠疫情及其新出现的病毒变种所带来的毁灭性影响之际，新冠疫苗接种已成为恢复正常生活的一项更为关键的手段。然而，疫苗接种计划的成效，尤其是疫苗的接种率和覆盖率，取决于个人对该疾病及现有疫苗的了解程度和个人看法。本研究调查了孟加拉国、哥伦比亚、印度、马来西亚、津巴布韦和美国与新冠病毒新变种及疫苗相关的知识、态度以及由此产生的社区行为。通过一份结构化的多项目问卷，对六个不同国家的受访者进行了基于网络的横断面知识、态度和行为（KAP）调查。调查问卷被翻译成英语、西班牙语和马来语，以适应每个国家的当地语言。使用单变量和多元逻辑回归评估KAP与一系列解释变量之间的关联。最终分析共纳入781份回复。知识得分平均为24分（满分46分），态度得分为28.9分（满分55分），行为得分为7.3分（满分11分）。近65%的受访者表示了解新冠病毒变种和疫苗接种情况，55%的受访者对现有的新冠疫苗持积极态度，85%的受访者表示采取了支持新冠疫苗接种的行为。从多元逻辑模型中，我们发现研究生学历（优势比=1.83，95%置信区间：1.23-2.74）以及45-54岁的年龄范围（优势比=5.81，95%置信区间：2.30-14.69）与报告的新冠知识显著相关。此外，积极的态度得分与居住在津巴布韦的受访者相关（优势比=4.49，95%置信区间：2.04-9.90），积极的行为得分与来自印度的人（优势比=3.68，95%置信区间：1.15-11.74）以及高中学历（优势比=2.16，95%置信区间：1.07-4.38）相关。本研究有助于确定与对新冠病毒变种和疫苗的知识匮乏、态度消极及行为不当相关的社会人口因素。它为与不同社区合作解决新冠错误信息和疫苗犹豫的常见根源（即知识、态度和行为）提供了契机。
