Cybulski Mateusz, Wojszel Zyta Beata, Wojszel Aleksandra, Jahel Sara, Sliwinska Paulina, Krajewska-Kulak Elzbieta
Department of Integrated Medical Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-096 Bialystok, Poland.
Department of Geriatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-471 Bialystok, Poland.
Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Nov 13;10(11):1918. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10111918.
The fear of being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 has become widespread, especially among older adults. Information campaigns to promote mass vaccination against COVID-19 are a key element in controlling and preventing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, their success primarily depends on vaccination coverage in a given population. The aim of this study was to assess the severity of COVID-19 anxiety and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines among older adults in Poland.
This pilot study was conducted among a total of 127 older participants, including 108 students (85%) of Third Age Universities in Bialystok and 19 patients (15%) of the Department and Clinic of Geriatrics of the Hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration in Bialystok. The study used a diagnostic survey based on an author-designed questionnaire and four standardized psychometric tools: The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), The Drivers of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance Scale (DrVac-COVID19S), and Scale to Measure the Perception of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines Acceptance (The VAC-COVID-19 Scale).
COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the study group was 88.2%, with three doses in most cases. We found a negative vaccination status only in women taking part in the study. Men scored significantly higher on DrVac-COVID19S and its Value subscale, and markedly lower on FCV-19S. We did not observe significant differences in the scales' scores between age groups. Respondents recruited from the Third Age Universities had significantly higher scores than geriatric clinic patients in the Knowledge subscale of DrVac-COVID19S. In the case of FCV-19S, no correlation with the results obtained in other scales used in the study was found. Additionally, no correlation was found between CAS scores and the following scales: DrVac-COVID19S (total), DrVac-COVID19S Knowledge (K) subscale, DrVac-COVID19S Autonomy (A) subscale and VAC-COVID-19-Scale-positive subscale. The other scales were strongly correlated with each other-the correlations were statistically significant.
Subjective COVID-19 anxiety in the study group was moderate. Seniors were more likely to show positive vaccine attitudes, as confirmed by the percentage of respondents vaccinated against COVID-19 with at least one dose. However, there is still a percentage of unvaccinated individuals in the population of seniors; therefore, measures should be taken to motivate this age group and encourage preventive vaccination against COVID-19. Furthermore, representative studies on COVID-19 anxiety and attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine among Polish seniors are needed to determine a more precise prevalence of these phenomena and potential correlations on a national level.
对感染严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的恐惧已广泛传播，尤其是在老年人中。开展促进新冠病毒病（COVID-19）大规模疫苗接种的宣传活动是控制和预防COVID-19大流行传播的关键要素。然而，其成功主要取决于特定人群的疫苗接种覆盖率。本研究的目的是评估波兰老年人中COVID-19焦虑的严重程度以及对COVID-19疫苗的态度。
本试点研究共纳入127名老年参与者，其中包括比亚韦斯托克第三年龄大学的108名学生（85%）以及比亚韦斯托克内政和行政部医院老年病科的19名患者（15%）。该研究使用了基于作者设计问卷的诊断性调查以及四种标准化心理测量工具：COVID-19恐惧量表（FCV-19S）、冠状病毒焦虑量表（CAS）、COVID-19疫苗接种接受度驱动力量表（DrVac-COVID19S）以及SARS-CoV-2疫苗接受度感知量表（VAC-COVID-19量表）。
研究组的COVID-19疫苗接种覆盖率为88.2%，大多数情况下接种了三剂。我们仅在参与研究的女性中发现了未接种疫苗的情况。男性在DrVac-COVID19S及其价值子量表上得分显著更高，而在FCV-19S上得分显著更低。我们未观察到各年龄组在量表得分上存在显著差异。从第三年龄大学招募的受访者在DrVac-COVID19S的知识子量表上的得分显著高于老年病科诊所的患者。就FCV-19S而言，未发现与本研究中使用的其他量表所得结果存在相关性。此外，未发现CAS得分与以下量表之间存在相关性：DrVac-COVID19S（总分）、DrVac-COVID19S知识（K）子量表、DrVac-COVID19S自主性（A）子量表以及VAC-COVID-19量表阳性子量表。其他量表彼此之间相关性很强——相关性具有统计学意义。
研究组中主观的COVID-19焦虑程度为中度。如至少接种一剂COVID-19疫苗的受访者百分比所示，老年人更有可能表现出积极的疫苗态度。然而，老年人群中仍有一定比例的未接种者；因此，应采取措施激励该年龄组并鼓励进行COVID-19预防性疫苗接种。此外，需要针对波兰老年人中COVID-19焦虑及对COVID-19疫苗态度开展代表性研究，以确定这些现象在全国范围内更精确的流行率及潜在相关性。
