Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, PA 15261, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Sep 17;19(18):11729. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191811729.
Religiosity may influence COVID-19 vaccination. However, it remains unclear how religiosity is associated with beliefs toward COVID-19 and vaccination against it, particularly amongst ethnic minorities. This study examined the association between religiosity, vaccination intent, beliefs, and attitudes related to COVID-19 and vaccination among adults in Puerto Rico. Data from an online survey conducted between December 2020-February 2021 among adults (≥18 yr; = 1895) residing in Puerto Rico were used. Rating of the importance of religiosity was used to capture the level of religiosity ('less important', 'somewhat important', 'important', and 'very important'). The health belief model (HBM) assessed beliefs and attitudes toward COVID-19 and vaccination against it. Adjusted Poisson models with robust error variance estimated prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals for vaccination intent and individual COVID-19 HBM constructs. Compared to individuals rating religiosity as 'less important' to them, those rating it as 'very important' were more likely to be unwilling or uncertain to get the COVID-19 vaccine (PR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.10-2.05). Higher ratings of importance of religiosity, compared to the lowest level, were associated with significantly lower perceived COVID-19 susceptibility, more vaccine barriers, and lower vaccine benefits (all < 0.05). Individuals who reported religiosity being very important to them were more likely to report that they will get the COVID-19 vaccine only if given adequate information about it (PR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.02-1.27) and more likely to get the vaccine if more people decide to receive it (all < 0.05). In conclusion, our results suggest an association between religiosity and COVID-19 vaccination intent and beliefs and attitudes toward vaccination. The study highlights important guidelines for public health campaigns to increase vaccine uptake among religious communities in Puerto Rico.
宗教信仰可能会影响人们对 COVID-19 疫苗的接种意愿。然而，目前尚不清楚宗教信仰与人们对 COVID-19 和疫苗接种的信念之间存在怎样的关联，尤其是在少数民族群体中。本研究旨在探讨波多黎各成年人的宗教信仰、疫苗接种意愿、与 COVID-19 和疫苗接种相关的信念和态度之间的关系。该研究使用了 2020 年 12 月至 2021 年 2 月期间在波多黎各成年人（≥18 岁；n=1895）中进行的一项在线调查的数据。宗教信仰的重要性评分用于衡量宗教信仰的程度（“不重要”“有些重要”“重要”和“非常重要”）。健康信念模型（HBM）评估了对 COVID-19 和疫苗接种的信念和态度。采用具有稳健误差方差的调整泊松模型估计了疫苗接种意愿和个体 COVID-19 HBM 结构的患病率比（PR）和 95%置信区间。与将宗教信仰评定为“不重要”的个体相比，将宗教信仰评定为“非常重要”的个体更不愿意或不确定接种 COVID-19 疫苗（PR=1.51，95%CI=1.10-2.05）。与最低水平相比，宗教信仰的重要性评分越高，人们对 COVID-19 的易感性、疫苗接种的障碍以及疫苗接种的益处的感知就越低（均<0.05）。报告宗教信仰对他们非常重要的个体更有可能表示只有在获得足够的相关信息后才会接种 COVID-19 疫苗（PR=1.14，95%CI=1.02-1.27），并且如果更多人决定接种疫苗，他们更有可能接种疫苗（均<0.05）。总之，本研究结果表明宗教信仰与 COVID-19 疫苗接种意愿以及与疫苗接种相关的信念和态度之间存在关联。该研究强调了为提高波多黎各宗教社区疫苗接种率而制定公共卫生宣传活动的重要指导方针。
