Analysis of systemic and behavioral barriers to COVID-19 vaccination in rollout phase

Abstract

ABSTRACT Vaccines play a critical role in preventing deaths, and hospitalization caused by infectious diseases. This study utilized a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to identify the systemic and behavioral barriers to vaccination for COVID-19. Then the study applied Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) Technique, Fuzzy-Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to calculate the importance scores for these barriers. The study used a focus group of six experts working in healthcare for group decision-making. Three identified systemic barriers (importance score) were (1) Cost (0.048) (2) Convenience (0.043), and (3) Supply Chain Issue (0.037); while three behavioral barriers were (1) Complacency (0.128) (2) Lack of Trust (0.280), and (3) Lack of Awareness (0.488). The study concluded that the most important barrier to overcome was the Lack of Awareness followed by the Lack of Trust. The significant contribution of this study was that it established that the importance of behavioral barriers was significantly higher than the systemic barriers, which got more attention in planning. The result of the study concurred with the findings of the SLR. Thus, this study provided a descriptive and prescriptive framework for overcoming barriers to vaccination in resource-constrained countries. The findings of the study are useful for policymakers and healthcare administrators.