Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Hamra , 1107, Beirut, Lebanon.
Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Hamra, 1107, Beirut, Lebanon.
J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2023 Mar;13(1):55-66. doi: 10.1007/s44197-023-00086-4. Epub 2023 Feb 3.
Lebanon endured its worst economic and financial crisis in 2020-2021. To minimize the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to improve the overall COVID-19 vaccination rate. Given that vaccine hesitancy among health care workers (HCWs) affects the general population's decision to be vaccinated, our study assessed COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among Lebanon HCWs and identified barriers, demographic differences, and the most trusted sources of COVID-19 information.
A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2021 among HCWs across nine hospitals, the Orders of Physicians, Nurses, and Pharmacists in Lebanon. Descriptive statistics were performed to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, and univariate and multivariable to identify their predictors.
Among 879 participants, 762 (86.8%) were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, 52 (5.9%) refused, and 64 (7.3%) were undecided. Males (226/254; 88.9%) and those ≥ 55 years (95/100; 95%) had the highest rates of acceptance. Of the 113 who were not willing to receive the vaccine, 54.9% reported that the vaccine was not studied well enough. Participants with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and those who did not know if they had a previous infection (p = 0.002) were less likely to accept the vaccine compared to those with no previous infection. The most trusted COVID-19 sources of information were WHO (69.3%) and healthcare providers (68%).
Lebanese HCWs had a relatively high acceptance rate for COVID-19 vaccination compared to other countries. Our findings are important in informing the Lebanese health care authorities to establish programs and interventions to improve vaccine uptake among HCWs and the general population.
黎巴嫩在 2020-2021 年经历了最严重的经济和金融危机。为了将 COVID-19 大流行的影响降至最低，提高整体 COVID-19 疫苗接种率非常重要。鉴于医护人员（HCWs）的 COVID-19 疫苗犹豫态度会影响普通民众接种疫苗的决定，我们的研究评估了黎巴嫩 HCWs 对 COVID-19 疫苗的接受程度，并确定了障碍、人口统计学差异以及最信任的 COVID-19 信息来源。
2021 年 1 月至 5 月，在黎巴嫩的九家医院和医师、护士和药剂师的命令中，对 HCWs 进行了横断面研究。采用描述性统计方法评估 COVID-19 疫苗接种的接受情况，并进行单变量和多变量分析以确定其预测因素。
在 879 名参与者中，762 名（86.8%）愿意接种 COVID-19 疫苗，52 名（5.9%）拒绝，64 名（7.3%）未决定。男性（226/254；88.9%）和≥55 岁的人群（95/100；95%）接种率最高。在 113 名不愿意接种疫苗的人中，54.9%的人报告称疫苗研究不够充分。与没有既往感染的参与者相比，有既往 SARS-CoV-2 感染的参与者和不知道自己是否有既往感染的参与者（p=0.002）不太可能接受疫苗。最信任的 COVID-19 信息来源是世界卫生组织（69.3%）和医疗保健提供者（68%）。
与其他国家相比，黎巴嫩 HCWs 对 COVID-19 疫苗接种的接受率相对较高。我们的研究结果对于告知黎巴嫩卫生保健当局制定计划和干预措施，以提高 HCWs 和普通民众的疫苗接种率非常重要。
