Muluneh Muluken Dessalegn, Negash Kasahun, Tsegaye Sentayehu, Abera Yared, Tadesse Derbe, Abebe Sintayehu, Vaughan Cathy, Stulz Virginia
Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia, P.O. Box 20855, Addis Ababa 1000, Ethiopia.
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Melbourne University, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Mar 31;11(4):774. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11040774.
The current healthcare system's efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Ethiopia and limit its effects on human lives are being hampered by hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge levels, attitudes, and prevention practices of COVID-19, in the context of the level of vaccine hesitancy with other associated factors in Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional design with mixed-method data sources was employed. It comprised 1361 study participants for the quantitative survey, with randomly selected study participants from the studied community. This was triangulated by a purposively selected sample of 47 key informant interviews and 12 focus group discussions. The study showed that 53.9%, 55.3%, and 44.5% of participants had comprehensive knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding COVID-19 prevention and control, respectively. Similarly, 53.9% and 47.1% of study participants had adequate knowledge and favorable attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. Only 29.0% of the total survey participants had been vaccinated with at least one dose of vaccine. Of the total study participants, 64.4% were hesitant about receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. The most frequently reported reasons were a lack of trust in the vaccine (21%), doubts regarding the long-term side effects (18.1%), and refusal on religious grounds (13.6%). After adjusting for other confounding factors, geographical living arrangements, the practices of COVID-19 prevention methods, attitudes about the vaccine, vaccination status, perceived community benefit, perceived barriers toward vaccination, and self-efficacy about receiving the vaccine were significantly associated with vaccine hesitancy. Therefore, to improve vaccine coverage and reduce this high level of hesitancy, there should be specifically designed, culturally tailored health education materials and a high level of engagement from politicians, religious leaders, and other community members.
埃塞俄比亚当前的医疗保健系统为减少新冠病毒传播并限制其对人类生命的影响所做的努力，正受到对新冠疫苗的犹豫态度的阻碍。本研究的目的是在埃塞俄比亚疫苗犹豫程度及其他相关因素的背景下，评估对新冠病毒的知识水平、态度和预防措施。采用了基于社区的横断面设计，数据来源为混合方法。定量调查包括1361名研究参与者，他们是从研究社区中随机选取的。通过有目的选取的47次关键信息访谈和12次焦点小组讨论进行三角验证。研究表明，分别有53.9%、55.3%和44.5%的参与者对新冠病毒预防和控制具有全面的知识、态度和措施。同样，53.9%和47.1%的研究参与者对新冠疫苗有足够的了解并持积极态度。在所有调查参与者中，只有29.0%接种了至少一剂疫苗。在所有研究参与者中，64.4%对接种新冠疫苗犹豫不决。最常提到的原因是对疫苗缺乏信任（21%）、对长期副作用的怀疑（18.1%）以及基于宗教原因拒绝（13.6%）。在调整其他混杂因素后，居住地理安排、新冠预防措施的实施情况、对疫苗的态度、疫苗接种状况、感知到的社区益处、感知到的疫苗接种障碍以及接种疫苗的自我效能感与疫苗犹豫显著相关。因此，为提高疫苗接种率并减少这种高度的犹豫态度，应设计专门的、符合文化特点的健康教育材料，并且政治家、宗教领袖和其他社区成员应高度参与。
