The Impact of Social Media Exposure and Interpersonal Discussion on Intention of COVID-19 Vaccination among Nurses.

Meiqi Xin,Xiaojun Chen,Joseph T F Lau,Lijuan Li,Sitong Luo,Rui She,Liping Li,Xi Chen

doi:10.3390/vaccines9101204

Abstract

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among nurses is a global public health concern and it is imperative to understand associated factors. Information environment plays a critical role in shaping health behaviors, while few studies explored such effects in the context of COVID-19 vaccination. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1902 nurses in China. The study investigated the effects of social media exposure/interpersonal discussion on intention of COVID-19 vaccination and tested whether perceived effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines (perceived vaccine efficacy, perceived duration of protection, and perceived effectiveness in preventing resurgences) mediated such associations. Results showed that about 68.0% and 56.5% of the participants had an intention of free and self-paid COVID-19 vaccinations, respectively. Frequent social media exposure and interpersonal discussion were positively associated with vaccination intentions. Perceived vaccine efficacy significantly mediated the effects of frequent social media exposure and interpersonal discussion, whereas perceived effectiveness in preventing resurgences suppressed the effects of frequent social media exposure. In conclusion, the prevalence of intention of COVID-19 vaccination was relatively low among Chinese nurses and health promotion is needed. Frequent social media exposure and interpersonal discussion potentially enhanced vaccination intentions via increased perceived vaccine efficacy. The findings can help inform the development of relevant health communication interventions.

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic has not been brought under control in most parts of the world, despite the widespread implementation of various non-pharmaceutical interventions, including personal protective measures and stringent restrictions [1]
The univariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with working in the department of medicine, working in the department of infectious diseases was positively associated with intention of free vaccination (COR = 1.72, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.02 to 2.88, p = 0.04)
Adjusted for the significant background variables, the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that frequencies of passive social media exposure (AOR = 1.31/1.40), frequencies of active social media exposure (AOR = 1.16/1.24), frequencies of discussion with medical professionals (AOR = 1.32/1.31), frequencies of discussion with non-medical people (AOR = 1.28/1.40), and the three types of perceptions of effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines (AOR ranged from 1.12 to 1.44) were all positively associated with intention of free/self-paid vaccination

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has not been brought under control in most parts of the world, despite the widespread implementation of various non-pharmaceutical interventions, including personal protective measures and stringent restrictions (e.g., massive lockdown) [1]. Effective vaccination is deemed a promising strategy for fostering herd immunity in general populations [3]. COVID-19 vaccines have been developed at an unprecedented speed and many countries are implementing mass vaccination programs. Vaccination hesitancy/resistance has become a global concern [4]. It is a major challenge for COVID-19 vaccination programs to reach a sufficient coverage required for achieving protection at the community level, as the expedition might have introduced concerns about the new vaccines’ performance and evaluation standards [5,6]. Some large-scale surveys found that around 72–74% of the general population accepted the COVID-19 vaccination [7,8].

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion