Facilitators and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake among women in two regions of Ghana: A qualitative study

Abstract

Although COVID-19 vaccines are available, evidence suggests that several factors hinder or facilitate their use. Several studies have found gender differences in COVID-19 vaccine uptake, with women less likely to vaccinate than men in many countries, including Ghana. These studies, however, have primarily been quantitative. This study used a qualitative approach to examine the facilitators and barriers to vaccine uptake among women in Ghana. Using a cross-sectional descriptive qualitative research design, 30 women in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions of Ghana were conveniently sampled and interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Fifteen (15) interviews were conducted in each region. The data were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using QSR NVivo version 10 software. Among the key factors that facilitate COVID-19 vaccination are the desire to protect oneself and family against COVID-19, education about COVID-19 vaccines, seeing others receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and vaccine being cost-free. On the other hand, long queues at the vaccination centres, fear of side effects, misconceptions about the vaccines, and shortage of vaccines were the main barriers against COVID-19 vaccination. The study results show that individual, institutional, and vaccine-related factors facilitate or hinder COVID-19 vaccination among women. Addressing these factors need continuous comprehensive health education, and ensuring vaccine availability at vaccination sites will improve women’s uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Barriers and Facilitators to COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Polish Patients: A Qualitative Interview Study

“…Opinions on vaccination hesitancy in our qualitative study are in part consistent with other findings, such as the disbelief in vaccine safety and fear of side effects [ 21 , 22 ]. On the other hand, differences across countries and their healthcare systems can be observed [ 21 , 23 ].…”

“…Opinions on vaccination hesitancy in our qualitative study are in part consistent with other findings, such as the disbelief in vaccine safety and fear of side effects [ 21 , 22 ]. On the other hand, differences across countries and their healthcare systems can be observed [ 21 , 23 ]. Others highlighted their perceived lack of need for vaccination, access difficulties, and treatment issues due to ethnicity as barriers [ 16 , 21 , 24 ].…”

“…On the other hand, differences across countries and their healthcare systems can be observed [ 21 , 23 ]. Others highlighted their perceived lack of need for vaccination, access difficulties, and treatment issues due to ethnicity as barriers [ 16 , 21 , 24 ]. A study by Steinert et al [ 25 ] on vaccine hesitancy in eight countries, including Poland, indicated a variety of country-specific reasons for vaccine hesitancy.…”

“…Undertaking this type of research is crucial due to the severe socioeconomic burden of the pandemic. It needs to be emphasized that only a few published qualitative studies have shown barriers and facilitators to vaccine uptake in populations from other countries, although they did not include individuals previously hospitalized due to COVID-19 [ 14 , 16 , 21 , 23 , 30 , 47 , 48 ]. The greatest value of our study lies in the fact that the respondents were recruited from several hospitals and thus had experiences of hospitalization in several different healthcare institutions.…”

Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Uptake among Health Professionals: A Cross-Sectional Study in Ghana

“…We observed that males had a higher likelihood of taking their first shot of the vaccine than their female counterparts, which could be due to long queues in vaccination centres, the fear of side effects, a shortage of vaccines, and misconceptions about the vaccine, as reported by a qualitative study conducted among women in Ghana [ 30 ]. This points to the need to educate females regarding the need for vaccines.…”