Effect of Educational Sessions on COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Pregnant Women

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy had been defined by The World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top ten global health threats since 2019. Vaccine hesitancy or refusal to accept is a growing concern throughout the world, especially as new and deadly variants emerge. Aim: To investigate the effect of educational sessions on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women. Study design: A quasi-experimental research design was used. Subjects: A purposive sample of 159 pregnant women who attended the Antenatal Clinics of the Obstetric and Gynecological Department at Mansoura University Hospitals, Mansoura city, Dakhalia governorate, Egypt was studied. Three tools were used Structured interviews with a questionnaire assessed the women's general characteristics. The Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Scale was used to assess the level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and the Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale was used to assess the COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy beliefs. Results: The results revealed that the total level of vaccine hesitancy was significantly reduced from 25.8% (strongly hesitant) before the educational sessions to 7.5% after the educational sessions. Also, the willingness to receive the vaccine significantly increased from 11.9% before the educational sessions to 74.8% after the educational sessions. Furthermore, the vaccine conspiracy beliefs significantly decreased from 59.7% before the educational sessions to 5.0% after the educational sessions. Conclusion: COVID-19 educational sessions were an effective tool for decreasing the level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women. Recommendation: Further research on correcting conspiracy negative beliefs regarding COVID-19 vaccines, which correspond to a decrease in vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women, is warranted.