Caribbean School of Sport Sciences, The University of Technology, Jamaica, 237 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6, Jamaica.
School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, The University of Technology, Jamaica, 237 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6, Jamaica.
Public Health. 2023 Apr;217:146-154. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2023.01.031. Epub 2023 Feb 6.
Vaccine hesitancy is a public health challenge highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to determine the prevalence and explanatory factors leading to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the Jamaican population to inform vaccination strategies.
This was an exploratory cross-sectional study.
An exploratory survey was distributed electronically between September and October 2021 to gather information on COVID-19 vaccination behaviour and beliefs among the Jamaican population. Data were expressed as frequencies and analysed using Chi-squared followed by multivariate logistic regressions. Significant analyses were determined at P < 0.05.
Of the 678 eligible responses, most were females (71.5%, n = 485), between ages 18-45 years (68.2%, n = 462), had tertiary education (83.4%, n = 564) and were employed (73.4%, n = 498), with 10.6% (n = 44) being healthcare workers. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was present in 29.8% (n = 202) of the survey population, mainly because of safety and efficacy concerns and a general lack of reliable information about the vaccines. The likelihood of hesitancy increased amongst respondents under 36 years (odds ratio [OR] 6.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.6, 12.9), those who delayed initial acceptance of vaccines (OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.3, 3.1); parents for their children and with long waits at vaccination centres. Likelihood of hesitancy decreased for respondents over 36 years (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.8, 7.8) and with vaccine support from pastors/religious leaders (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1, 2.4).
Vaccine hesitancy was more prevalent in younger respondents who were never exposed to the effects of vaccine-preventable diseases. Religious leaders had more influence than healthcare workers to increase vaccine uptake.
疫苗犹豫是 COVID-19 大流行期间突显的公共卫生挑战。本研究旨在确定牙买加人群中 COVID-19 疫苗犹豫的流行率和导致其产生的因素，以为接种策略提供信息。
这是一项探索性的横断面研究。
2021 年 9 月至 10 月间，通过电子方式分发了一份探索性调查，以收集牙买加人群中 COVID-19 疫苗接种行为和信念的信息。数据以频率表示，并使用卡方检验进行分析，随后进行多变量逻辑回归。有意义的分析结果的 P 值均小于 0.05。
在 678 名合格的受访者中，大多数是女性（71.5%，n=485），年龄在 18-45 岁之间（68.2%，n=462），具有高等教育学历（83.4%，n=564）且有工作（73.4%，n=498），其中 10.6%（n=44）是医疗保健工作者。调查人群中有 29.8%（n=202）存在 COVID-19 疫苗犹豫，主要是因为对疫苗的安全性和有效性存在担忧，以及对疫苗缺乏可靠信息。在年龄小于 36 岁的受访者（比值比[OR]6.8，95%置信区间[CI]3.6，12.9）、最初延迟接受疫苗的受访者（OR 2.7，95%CI 2.3，3.1）；以及为子女和在疫苗接种中心等待时间较长的父母中，疫苗犹豫的可能性增加。在年龄大于 36 岁的受访者（OR 3.7，95%CI 1.8，7.8）和得到牧师/宗教领袖疫苗支持的受访者（OR 1.6，95%CI 1.1，2.4）中，疫苗犹豫的可能性降低。
在从未接触过疫苗可预防疾病影响的年轻受访者中，疫苗犹豫更为普遍。宗教领袖比医疗保健工作者更有影响力，能够增加疫苗接种率。
