Cognitive and Cultural Factors That Affect General Vaccination and COVID-19 Vaccination Attitudes

Abstract

The development of COVID-19 vaccines is a major scientific accomplishment that has armed communities worldwide with powerful epidemic control tools. Yet, COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the US have been marred by persistent vaccine hesitancy. We used survey methodology to explore the impact of different cognitive and cultural factors on the public’s general vaccination attitudes, attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines, and COVID-19 vaccination status. The factors include information literacy, science literacy, attitudes towards science, interpersonal trust, public health trust, political ideology, and religiosity. The analysis suggests that attitudes towards vaccination are influenced by a multitude of factors that operate in a complex manner. General vaccination attitude was most affected by attitudes towards science and public health trust and to a lesser degree by information literacy, science literacy, and religiosity. Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines were most affected by public health trust and to a lesser extent by general trust, ideology and attitudes towards science. Vaccination status was most influenced by public health trust. Possible mediating effects of correlated variables in the model need to be further explored. The study underscores the importance of understanding the relationship between public health trust, literacies, and sociocultural factors.

COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Mediates the Relationship between Health Literacy and Vaccination in a Diverse Sample of Urban Adults

“…For example, media literacy is likely to have significant relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic given the abundance of online information about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments [ 60 ]. Finally, some have advocated for measures of vaccine confidence to assess health care trust at the system and provider levels [ 16 , 27 ]. The aVCI tool we used was brief, specific to COVID-19, and did not provide such an assessment.…”

“…Many factors influence vaccination acceptance, including confidence in efficacy and safety, the perception of risks and benefits, and availability, as well as political, cultural, and religious factors [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Vaccine confidence is defined as the degree of trust individuals have in a specific vaccine and the health care system recommending vaccination [ 17 ].…”

Promoting RAPID Vaccine Science Education at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In particular, education levels have been shown to be a contributing factor, with those attaining higher levels of education showing a decrease in vaccine refusal or hesitancy ( 7 , 20 , 21 ). Keselman and colleagues ( 22 ) found that, “It is likely that information literacy and science literacy influenced public health trust and positive attitudes toward science, mediating their impact on positive attitude toward vaccination.” Separately, Biasio ( 23 ) suggested that, “Obstacles to vaccination might be overcome by improving health education, especially when targeted, not only at parents and adult populations but also at students, starting from primary and secondary schools, as recently suggested.” There are some studies that suggest the opposite trend. For example, a study from Thailand showed that increasing vaccine literacy among health care workers was not associated with vaccine acceptance ( 24 ).…”

Trust in Physicians in the Context of HPV Vaccination of Children from the Perspective of Social Exchange Theory: A Representative Study of Polish Parents

“…Moreover, a study by Liddon et al conducted on a sample of 1268 parents of children between the ages of 11 and 17 indicated that a high level of parental trust in the pediatrician has a powerful influence on the willingness to vaccinate a child against HPV [63]. At the same time, it is important to note that trust is a complex and multi-dimensional concept that various factors, such as communication style, cultural beliefs, and personal experiences, can influence [64][65][66]. Therefore, children's physicians must engage in active communication on cervical cancer risk and preventive measures with parents/caregivers.…”