| Literature DB >> 34960197 |
Mohamed Khalis1, Mouna Boucham1, Amy Luo2, Abdelghafour Marfak3,4, Soukaina Saad5, Camara Mariama Aboubacar1, Soukaina Ait El Haj1, Manar Jallal1, Fatima-Zahra Aazi6, Hafida Charaka7, Chakib Nejjari1.
Abstract
While students in the health sciences occupy pivotal roles in the Moroccan COVID-19 response and vaccination campaigns, factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptability among students have not been reported. This study aimed to determine the willingness and identify predictive attitudes and beliefs of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among health science students in Morocco. A cross-sectional, self-administered online questionnaire was conducted among students of the Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences in Casablanca, Morocco in January 2021. In total, 1272 students participated. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Overall, 26.9% of participants reported being willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Between genders, male students were more likely to accept the vaccine. Regarding individual attitudes and beliefs about COVID-19 infection, students with greater confidence in COVID-19 information, and higher perceived likelihood and perceived severity of infection were more likely to be willing to get the vaccine. Concerning a COVID-19 vaccine, students who reported lower levels of perceived harm and higher levels of perceived vaccine effectiveness were more willing to get vaccinated. Our findings help guide future efforts to tailor communication and identify strategies to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake among students.Entities:
Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine acceptance; Middle East and North Africa; Morocco; decision making; public health; risk perception
Year: 2021 PMID: 34960197 PMCID: PMC8708048 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9121451
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Vaccines (Basel) ISSN: 2076-393X
Sociodemographic and health history characteristics of participants (n = 1272).
| Variable | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Gender 1 | |
| Male | 402 (31.6) |
| Female | 870 (68.4) |
| Age (mean ± SD) 1 | 21.7 ± 5.6 |
| ≤20 | 652 (51.3) |
| >20 | 620 (48.7) |
| College | |
| Medicine | 692 (54.4) |
| Dentistry | 120 (9.4) |
| Pharmacy | 73 (5.7) |
| Nursing and Allied Health Sciences | 178 (14.0) |
| Public Health | 123 (9.7) |
| Biomedical Engineering | 86 (6.8) |
| Chronic disease | |
| No | 1104 (86.8) |
| Yes | 168 (13.2) |
| History of COVID-19 | |
| No | 1154 (90.7) |
| Yes | 118 (9.3) |
| Family member, friend or classmate infected with COVID-19 | |
| No | 249 (19.6) |
| Yes | 1023 (80.4) |
| Loss of a loved one, or a friend due to COVID-19 | |
| No | 951 (74.8) |
| Yes | 321 (25.2) |
1 Distribution is representative of the study population characteristics.
Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance (n = 1272).
| Independent Variable | Accept | No/or Not Sure | Unadjusted | Adjusted 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OR (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | |||||
| Gender | ||||||
| Female | 183 (53.4) | 687 (74.0) | Ref 2 | Ref | ||
| Male | 160 (46.6) | 242 (26.0) | 2.48 (1.91–3.21) | 1.45 (1.05–2.00) | 0.02 | |
| Age | 0.15 | |||||
| ≤20 | 187 (54.5) | 465 (50.1) | Ref | Ref | ||
| >20 | 156 (45.5) | 464 (49.9) | 0.83 (0.65–1.07) | 0.76 (0.55–1.03) | 0.08 | |
| Chronic disease | 0.95 | |||||
| No | 298 (86.9) | 806 (86.8) | Ref | Ref | ||
| Yes | 45 (13.1) | 123 (13.2) | 1.01 (0.70–1.45) | 1.30 (0.83–2.04) | 0.24 | |
| History of COVID-19 | 0.40 | |||||
| No | 315 (91.8) | 839 (90.3) | Ref | Ref | ||
| Yes | 28 (8.2) | 90 (9.7) | 0.82 (0.53–1.29) | 0.87 (0.52–1.48) | 0.62 | |
| Family member, friend or classmate infected with COVID-19 | 0.10 | |||||
| No | 57 (16.6) | 192 (20.7) | Ref | Ref | ||
| Yes | 286 (83.4) | 737 (79.3) | 1.30 (0.94–1.81) | 1.35 (0.89–2.05) | 0.15 | |
| Loss of a loved one or a friend due to COVID-19 | 0.05 | |||||
| No | 243 (70.8) | 708 (76.2) | Ref | Ref | ||
| Yes | 100 (29.2) | 221 (23.8) | 1.31 (0.99–1.74) | 1.32 (0.93–1.87) | 0.11 | |
| Score of confidence in the information circulating about COVID-19 | 2.68 ± 0.74 | 2.33 ± 0.72 | 1.91 (1.60–2.27) | <0.01 | 1.43 (1.14–1.80) | <0.01 |
| Score of knowledge about COVID-19 | 4.95 ± 1.01 | 4.86 ± 1.05 | 1.08 (0.96–1.22) | 0.17 | 1.03 (0.89–1.20) | 0.63 |
| Score of perceived likelihood of COVID-19 | 5.33 ± 1.18 | 5.14 ± 1.15 | 1.15 (1.03–1.28) | 0.01 | 1.23 (1.07–1.41) | <0.01 |
| Score of perceived severity of COVID-19 | 3.22 ± 0.73 | 2.95 ± 0.78 | 1.59 (1.34–1.88) | <0.01 | 1.26 (1.02–1.55) | 0.03 |
| Score of impact of the pandemic | 8.69 ± 1.69 | 8.79 ± 1.81 | 0.96 (0.90–1.03) | 0.38 | 0.96 (0.88–1.05) | 0.43 |
| Score of perceived harm of a COVID-19 vaccine | 2.31 ± 0.68 | 3.06 ± 0.71 | 0.23 (0.19–0.29) | <0.01 | 0.32 (0.25–0.41) | <0.01 |
| Score of perceived effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine | 3.30 ± 0.54 | 2.61 ± 0.67 | 8.15 (6.00–11.09) | <0.01 | 6.12 (4.32–8.66) | <0.01 |
1 Odds ratios adjusted for gender, loss of a family member due to COVID-19, score of confidence in the information circulating about COVID-19, score of perceived likelihood of COVID-19, score of perceived severity of COVID-19, score of perceived harm of a COVID-19 vaccine, and score of perceived effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine. 2 Reference group.
Factors influencing COVID-19 vaccination acceptance (n = 1272).
| Variable | Would Matter | Would Not Matter |
|---|---|---|
| Health status | 538 (42.3) | 734 (57.7) |
| Age | 308 (24.2) | 964 (75.8) |
| Free vaccine or coverage by health insurance | 206 (16.2) | 1066 (83.8) |
| Advice of your doctor | 440 (34.6) | 832 (65.4) |
| Duration of protection provided by the vaccine | 540 (42.5) | 732 (57.5) |
| Knowledge of the possible side effects of the vaccine | 1064 (83.6) | 208 (16.4) |
| Opinion of your friends or family members | 302 (23.7) | 970 (76.3) |
| Country of origin of the vaccine | 301 (23.7) | 971 (76.3) |
Factors influencing non-COVID vaccination acceptance among vaccine hesitant (n = 929).
| Variable | Would Matter | Would Not Matter |
|---|---|---|
| Recommendation from a doctor or any other health professional | 452 (48.7) | 477 (51.3) |
| Moroccan Ministry of Health Recommendations | 210 (22.6) | 719 (77.4) |
| World Health Organization Recommendations | 448 (48.2) | 481 (51.8) |
| Opinion of your family members or friends | 161 (17.3) | 768 (82.7) |
| Messages conveyed in the media | 58 (6.2) | 871 (93.8) |
| Any factor, including those not included | 660 (71.0) | 269 (29.0) |