Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
BMC Infect Dis. 2023 Jan 31;23(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s12879-023-08029-x.
The Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has continuously affected human life with several devastating effects. Currently, there are effective vaccines to protect people from COVID-19 and the World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted strategies to influence COVID-19 vaccine uptake in hard-to-reach communities in Ghana. However, prior studies on COVID-19 vaccine acceptability in Ghana are online surveys targeting the literates and those in urban areas, leaving residents in far-flung communities. We assessed knowledge, attitude and acceptability of COVID-19 vaccine among residents in rural communities in Ghana.
This study was a community-based cross-sectional study and was conducted at three selected regions in Ghana (Northern, Ashanti and Western North) from May to November, 2021. This study included residents 15-81 years, living in the selected rural communities for more than 1 year. Study participants were recruited and questionnaires administered to collect data on knowledge, attitude and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26.0 and GraphPad Prism Version 8.0 software.
Of the 764 participants included in this study, more than half had inadequate knowledge (55.0%), poor attitudes (59.4%) and bad perception about COVID-19 vaccine (55.4%). The acceptability of COVID-19 vaccine in this study was 41.9%. The acceptability of COVID-19 vaccine in Ashanti, Northern and Western North regions were 32.5%, 26.2% and 29.6% respectively. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, receiving recent or previous vaccine such as HBV vaccine [aOR = 1.57, 95% CI (1.23-3.29), p = 0.002], having good attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine [aOR = 61.47, 95% CI (29.55-127.86), p < 0.0001] and having good perception about the COVID-19 vaccine [aOR = 3.87, 95% CI (1.40-10.72), p < 0.0001] were independently associated with higher odds of accepting COVID-19 vaccine.
More than half of residents in Ghanaian rural communities have inadequate knowledge, poor attitudes and bad perception about COVID-19 vaccine. The acceptability of COVID-19 vaccine is generally low among rural residents in Ashanti, Northern and Western North regions of Ghana. Residents living in hard-to-reach communities must be educated about the benefits of COVID-19 vaccine to achieve effective vaccination program.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行对人类生活造成了持续的影响，并产生了一些破坏性的后果。目前，已有有效的疫苗可以保护人们免受 COVID-19 的侵害，世界卫生组织（WHO）强调了在加纳难以到达的社区中影响 COVID-19 疫苗接种的策略。然而，加纳之前关于 COVID-19 疫苗接受度的研究是针对有文化的人和城市地区的人的在线调查，而忽略了偏远社区的居民。我们评估了加纳农村社区居民对 COVID-19 疫苗的知识、态度和接受程度。
这是一项基于社区的横断面研究，于 2021 年 5 月至 11 月在加纳的三个选定地区（北部、阿散蒂和西北）进行。本研究包括 15-81 岁的居民，在选定的农村社区居住超过 1 年。通过招募研究参与者并进行问卷调查，收集有关 COVID-19 疫苗的知识、态度和接受程度的数据。使用社会科学统计软件包（SPSS）第 26.0 版和 GraphPad Prism 第 8.0 版进行统计分析。
在纳入本研究的 764 名参与者中，超过一半的人知识不足（55.0%）、态度不佳（59.4%）、对 COVID-19 疫苗的看法不佳（55.4%）。本研究中 COVID-19 疫苗的可接受性为 41.9%。阿散蒂、北部和西北地区 COVID-19 疫苗的可接受性分别为 32.5%、26.2%和 29.6%。在多变量逻辑回归分析中，最近或之前接种过乙肝疫苗等疫苗[比值比（aOR）=1.57，95%置信区间（CI）（1.23-3.29），p=0.002]、对 COVID-19 疫苗有良好的态度[aOR=61.47，95%CI（29.55-127.86），p<0.0001]和对 COVID-19 疫苗有良好的看法[aOR=3.87，95%CI（1.40-10.72），p<0.0001]与更高的 COVID-19 疫苗接种意愿独立相关。
加纳农村社区居民中超过一半的人对 COVID-19 疫苗的知识不足、态度不佳且看法不佳。加纳阿散蒂、北部和西北地区农村居民对 COVID-19 疫苗的可接受性普遍较低。必须对居住在难以到达的社区的居民进行有关 COVID-19 疫苗益处的教育，以实现有效的疫苗接种计划。
