Bouloukaki Izolde, Christodoulakis Antonios, Patelarou Athina, Giakoumidakis Konstantinos, Zografakis-Sfakianakis Michail, Patelarou Evridiki, Tsiligianni Ioanna
Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71500 Heraklion, Greece.
Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 May 11;13(10):1115. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13101115.
Vaccination hesitancy remains a global challenge, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to assess the prevalence of hesitancy towards regular COVID-19 vaccinations, including booster doses (additional doses beyond the primary to sustain or improve immunity), among university students and its associated factors. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 190 university students from Hellenic Mediterranean University in Crete, Greece. Data were collected through an electronic survey distributed from July to October 2024. The survey included socio-demographic characteristics, health status factors, prior COVID-19 infection and vaccination history (general and for COVID-19), attitudes about COVID-19 vaccination, and the Attitude Towards Adult Vaccination (ATAVAC) scale. Qualitative data were also collected by addressing themes regarding ways to overcome vaccine hesitancy. The study found that 64% of participants expressed hesitancy towards receiving COVID-19 booster doses. Factors contributing to this hesitancy were female gender, current smoking, pregnancy, concerns about vaccine side effects, a lack of confidence in vaccine efficacy, COVID-19 infection history, low perceived susceptibility to infection, and reliance on media information. Additionally, increased trust in the value of adult vaccination, adhering to recommendations of treating physician/scientist opinions, and prior adherence to vaccination were positively associated with regular COVID-19 vaccinations. A thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified four key strategies to overcome student vaccine hesitancy: enhancing health literacy, validating vaccine safety through further research, alleviating pandemic-related fears, and addressing distrust in authorities and opposition to mandatory vaccination. Our findings provide insights into the intricate factors and barriers of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy among university students, thus emphasizing the need for more targeted interventions.
疫苗犹豫仍然是一项全球性挑战，尤其是在新冠疫情之后。我们旨在评估大学生中对常规新冠疫苗接种（包括加强针，即除基础针剂外额外接种以维持或增强免疫力的针剂）的犹豫程度及其相关因素。我们开展了一项横断面研究，涉及来自希腊克里特岛的希腊地中海大学的190名大学生。数据通过2024年7月至10月分发的电子调查问卷收集。该调查问卷包括社会人口学特征、健康状况因素、既往新冠病毒感染和疫苗接种史（一般疫苗接种和新冠疫苗接种）、对新冠疫苗接种的态度以及成人疫苗接种态度（ATAVAC）量表。我们还通过探讨克服疫苗犹豫的方法这一主题收集了定性数据。研究发现，64%的参与者表示对接种新冠加强针存在犹豫。导致这种犹豫的因素包括女性性别、当前吸烟、怀孕、对疫苗副作用的担忧、对疫苗效力缺乏信心、新冠病毒感染史、较低的感染易感性认知以及对媒体信息的依赖。此外，对成人疫苗接种价值的信任增加、遵循治疗医生/科学家意见的建议以及既往的疫苗接种依从性与常规新冠疫苗接种呈正相关。对定性数据的主题分析确定了克服学生疫苗犹豫的四个关键策略：提高健康素养、通过进一步研究验证疫苗安全性、减轻与疫情相关的恐惧以及消除对当局的不信任和对强制接种疫苗的反对。我们的研究结果揭示了大学生中新冠疫苗接种犹豫的复杂因素和障碍，从而强调了采取更具针对性干预措施的必要性。
