Kyprianidou Maria, Konstantinou Pinelopi, Alvarez-Galvez Javier, Ceccarelli Luca, Gruszczyńska Ewa, Mierzejewska-Floreani Dorota, Loumba Nataly, Montagni Ilaria, Tavoschi Lara, Karekla Maria, Kassianos Angelos P
Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Department of Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Public Health, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain.
Behav Med. 2023 Oct-Dec;49(4):362-373. doi: 10.1080/08964289.2022.2071198. Epub 2022 May 11.
Vaccination hesitancy is an important barrier for the effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Identifying determinants of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy is essential in order to reduce mortality rates. Further, given the variability of the factors and the different recommendations used in each country, it is important to conduct cross-country research to profile individuals who are hesitant toward COVID-19 vaccinations. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine cross-country differences and the behavioral, attitudinal and demographic characteristics of vaccine hesitant individuals. Adults living in six European countries (Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain) were eligible to participate. A total of 832 individuals completed the online survey, with 17.9% reporting being hesitant to COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccine accepters were significantly older ( 38.9, 14.3), more educated (master/postgraduate studies) and lived in a place with a higher number of residents (>500,000 people) compared to those hesitant to COVID-19 vaccination. Discriminant analysis confirmed that the hesitant profile includes a person of younger age, living alone in smaller communities, and without children. Additionally, hesitant participants reported COVID-19-specific characteristics such as lower institutional trust, less adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors and higher pandemic fatigue. When tackling COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy both socio-demographic and behavioral/attitudinal aspects should be taken into account. Stakeholders are advised to implement targeted vaccination programs while at the same time building trust with population illness cognitions addressed in order to reduce hesitancy rates. Further, stakeholders and public health authorities in each country are suggested to target interventions according to different population characteristics as behavioral and attitudinal determinants of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy differed between countries.
疫苗犹豫是有效控制新冠疫情的一个重要障碍。识别新冠疫苗犹豫的决定因素对于降低死亡率至关重要。此外，鉴于各国因素的差异以及所采用的不同建议，开展跨国研究以了解对新冠疫苗接种持犹豫态度的人群特征很重要。这项横断面研究旨在考察跨国差异以及疫苗犹豫人群的行为、态度和人口统计学特征。居住在六个欧洲国家（塞浦路斯、法国、德国、意大利、波兰和西班牙）的成年人有资格参与。共有832人完成了在线调查，其中17.9%的人表示对新冠疫苗接种持犹豫态度。与对新冠疫苗接种持犹豫态度的人相比，疫苗接受者年龄显著更大（平均38.9岁，标准差14.3）、受教育程度更高（硕士/研究生学历），且居住在居民数量更多的地方（>50万人）。判别分析证实，犹豫人群的特征包括年龄较小、独自居住在较小社区且没有孩子。此外，持犹豫态度的参与者表现出一些与新冠相关的特征，如机构信任度较低、对新冠防护行为的依从性较差以及大流行疲劳感较高。在解决新冠疫苗犹豫问题时，应同时考虑社会人口统计学和行为/态度方面的因素。建议利益相关者实施有针对性的疫苗接种计划，同时建立对人群疾病认知的信任，以降低犹豫率。此外，由于各国新冠疫苗犹豫的行为和态度决定因素存在差异，建议各国的利益相关者和公共卫生当局根据不同的人群特征进行有针对性的干预。
