Deshpande Sonali S, Gadappa Shrinivas N, Badgire Swati A, Aishwarya N P, Prasad Apoorva, Arora Sanjida
Academic Professor, Department of OBGY, GMCH, Aurangabad, Maharashtra India.
Professor & Head, Department of OBGY, GMCH, Aurangabad, Maharashtra India.
J Obstet Gynaecol India. 2024 Jun;74(3):224-230. doi: 10.1007/s13224-023-01882-5. Epub 2023 Nov 4.
Gender inequality influences access to and demand for healthcare services including vaccines. The gender gap in the COVID-19 vaccine coverage doesn't account for the skewed male-female ratio in India. The pandemic response has failed to recognize the barriers faced by women in accessing healthcare. These barriers are intensified in the case of pregnant women who are considered as a high-risk group for COVID-19 infection. The present study was aimed to examine the factors influencing the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women.
The study was carried out in the Department of OBGY, GMCH, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Pregnant women above 18 years who had at least one antenatal visit were considered for the purpose of the study. Women who consented to participate in the study were administered a survey questionnaire by a healthcare provider which included a demographic, socio-economic, and obstetric profile of pregnant women, knowledge and attitude toward vaccines, and gender-related barriers. The chi-square test and independent t test were done to identify the factors influencing the uptake of the vaccine.
About 22% of the women had not taken the vaccine (100 out of 444). Factors like age, residence, and education of women were not found to be associated with the uptake of vaccines. Husband's education was found to be significantly associated ( < 0.05) with vaccine uptake. The presence of complications during pregnancy also significantly deterred women from taking the vaccine. Concerns about the safety of the vaccine, side effects for the fetus, and negative opinions of family members about the vaccine were also found to be associated with non-uptake of the vaccine by pregnant women.
Healthcare providers during antenatal care can play an important role by addressing concerns regarding the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women.
性别不平等影响包括疫苗在内的医疗保健服务的获取和需求。新冠疫苗接种率方面的性别差距并不能解释印度男女比例失衡的情况。疫情应对措施未能认识到女性在获取医疗保健方面面临的障碍。对于被视为新冠感染高危群体的孕妇而言，这些障碍更加突出。本研究旨在探讨影响孕妇接种新冠疫苗的因素。
该研究在马哈拉施特拉邦奥兰加巴德市政府医学院妇产科进行。本研究纳入了年龄在18岁以上且至少进行过一次产前检查的孕妇。同意参与研究的女性由医疗保健提供者发放调查问卷，问卷内容包括孕妇的人口统计学、社会经济和产科情况、对疫苗的知识和态度以及与性别相关的障碍。采用卡方检验和独立t检验来确定影响疫苗接种的因素。
约22%的女性未接种疫苗（444名女性中有100名）。未发现女性的年龄、居住地和教育程度等因素与疫苗接种情况相关。发现丈夫的教育程度与疫苗接种情况显著相关（<0.05）。孕期出现并发症也显著阻碍了女性接种疫苗。对疫苗安全性的担忧、对胎儿的副作用以及家庭成员对疫苗的负面看法也与孕妇未接种疫苗有关。
产前护理期间的医疗保健提供者可以通过解决孕妇对新冠疫苗安全性的担忧发挥重要作用。
