COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal among Nurses Worldwide: Review of Trends and Predictors

Abstract

COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy has become a major concern around the world. Recent reports have also highlighted COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in healthcare workers. Despite media reports and scientific publications, little is known about the extent and predictors of COVID-19 vaccination refusal among nurses. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess COVID-19 vaccine refusal rates among nurses globally and to explore the reasons for refusal and factors associated with the uptake of the vaccines. A scoping review of the published literature was conducted, and a final pool of 51 studies (n = 41,098 nurses) from 36 countries was included in this review. The overall pooled prevalence rate of COVID-19 vaccine refusal among 41,098 nurses worldwide was 20.7% (95% CI = 16.5–27%). The rates of vaccination refusal were higher from March 2020–December 2020 compared to the rates from January 2021–May 2021. The major reasons for COVID-19 vaccine refusal were concerns about vaccine safety, side effects, and efficacy; misinformation and lack of knowledge; and mistrust in experts, authorities, or pharmaceutical companies. The major factors associated with acceptance of the vaccines were: male sex, older age, and flu vaccination history. Evidence-based strategies should be implemented in healthcare systems worldwide to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among nurses to ensure their safety and the safety of their patients and community members.

Utilization of virtual literature efforts to improve independent learning in the field of nursing science and practice in Indonesia

“…Advantages of online resources and data to support study One of the advantages of data used by the nursing world online is the report by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the World Health Organization that has declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic in mid-March 2020 (Khubchandani et al, 2022). This certainty is very reasonable considering that the spread of cases has reached 118,000 in 114 countries.…”

Italian nurses’ experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic through social media: A longitudinal mixed methods study of Internet posts

“…As a new finding, the theme ‘experiencing the mixed emotions towards jabs’ emerged in the second/third wave. As documented internationally by recent systematic and scoping reviews, 67 , 68 while some nurses have reported being grateful to science for making the vaccine against COVID-19 and not understanding the widespread reluctance of their anti-vax colleagues; others have expressed fear and indecision about its possible adverse effects. Furthermore, if some nurses have lived the vaccination campaign for COVID-19 as a moral obligation and a gesture of social responsibility, others have experienced this vaccine as an imposition, promoting a bioethical debate on its mandatory nature within health organizations.…”

Decisions to Choose COVID-19 Vaccination by Health Care Workers in a Southern California Safety Net Medical Center Vary by Sociodemographic Factors

“…These findings suggest vaccine acceptance could be promoted through encouragement from within these relational groups, particularly for non-white racial/ethnic HCWs. Previous studies found that the main reasons for COVID-19 vaccination among HCWs are family, friends, and healthcare workers [46,47] but did not examine whether race and ethnicity modify the motivations.…”

“…A survey of low-income, primarily female, Latino SNAP participants in Southern California found that having children was inversely associated with vaccine refusal while being single, separated/divorced, or widowed, and use of social media platforms was positively associated with vaccine refusal [53]. Themes of protecting family members and the community are present in studies of non-HCWs [17,46,47] and HCWs [54]. Thus, messaging focused on safeguarding vulnerable individuals from similar racial/ethnic backgrounds could provide an opportunity to increase vaccine uptake among HCWs in addition to the general popula-tion.…”