No abstract

Vaccination attitudes among healthcare workers (HCWs) predict their level of vaccination uptake and intention to recommend vaccinations to their patients. To our knowledge, no study has been conducted in South Africa to assess hesitancy toward influenza vaccines among HCWs. We adapted a questionnaire developed and validated by Betsch and colleagues and used it to conduct online and face-to-face interviews among HCWs at the start of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess predictors of influenza vaccine hesitancy. Of 401 participants, 64.5% were women, 49.2% were nurses, and 12.5% were physicians. A total of 54.9% were willing to accept, 20.4% were undecided, and 24.7% intended to refuse influenza vaccination. Participants who were above 25 years of age and physicians were more likely to accept the vaccine. Key predictors of vaccine acceptance were confidence in the effectiveness, consideration of benefits and risks, and willingness to be vaccinated to protect others. Influenza vaccine hesitancy was highest in those who did not trust that influenza vaccines are safe. For future flu seasons, tailored education programs on the safety and effectiveness of flu vaccines targeting younger HCWs, could be vital to improving vaccine uptake.

Co-formulated abacavir-lamivudine-zidovudine for initial treatment of HIV infection and AIDS (Review)

Background: Healthcare workers are at an increased risk of acquiring vaccine-preventable diseases and are known to be reliable sources of information for the patients and their relatives. Knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers about vaccines are thus important determinants of their own vaccination uptake and their intention to recommend vaccinations to their patients. However, culturally adapted tools and studies to address vaccine uptake and hesitancy as well as related behaviors among healthcare workers in the Global South are limited. Methods: We propose a mixed methods project to understand the extent and determinants of vaccination hesitancy among healthcare workers and construct a validated scale to measure this complex and context-specific phenomenon in Cape Town. We will summarize responses as counts and percentages for categorical variables and means with standard deviations (or medians with inter quartile ranges) for continuous variables. We will run the Shapiro-Wilks test to assess the normality. Analysis of the variance, chi-square tests, and equivalents will be conducted as appropriate for group comparisons. Logistic regression models will also be performed to assess association between variables. We will focus on the seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. We will use an existing tool developed and validated in Germany and the United States of America to measure five psychological determinants of vaccination (referred to as the 5C scale), as the basis to develop and validate a scale to measure the scope and determinants of vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among healthcare workers in Cape Town. Discussion and conclusion: Through this study, we hope to expand the scientific evidence base on vaccination acceptance and demand among healthcare workers in South Africa and build resources to enable better understanding of, detection, and response to vaccination hesitancy in Cape Town.