Knowledge, Attitudes, and Sources of Information on Vaccines in Spanish Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Health professionals are the most influential and main sources of information about vaccines for the general population, as they are regarded as role models by patients and society. The objective of the present study was to determine the knowledge and attitudes of a group of university Nursing students about vaccines, as well as their sources of information and their education needs. A cross-sectional study was performed through a questionnaire (55 items) provided to Nursing students at two Spanish universities. A total of 1122 students participated in the study. The mean score obtained for knowledge about vaccines was 44.6 ± 4.3, and for attitudes towards vaccines, it was 37.2 ± 3.9. Hepatitis B (94.7%) and the Flu (89%) are the two main vaccines they should receive as health workers. The main source of information was the family environment (65.6%). Most of them considered that post-graduate education about vaccines should be provided by academic entities (universities, 62.7%). Among the health professionals, Nurses (85.5%) must be better educated and trained on the subject of vaccines. It is therefore necessary to delve into and complete the nurses’ training on vaccines, to educate them about the risks at the individual level, and their decisive role as promoters of the vaccination strategy for the general population. Universities must become the leaders in vaccine education and training.

The Attitude towards Vaccination of Health Sciences Students at a Spanish University Improved over the First 18 Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The students in their final years showed a better attitude towards vaccination, a phenomenon identified in earlier studies from Spain [26,42] and other countries [11,[44][45][46]. This is probably related to the greater knowledge acquired and capacities developed by students further on in their studies.…”

“…The influence of being a student of nursing rather than another discipline (stronger even than the time of answering the questionnaire [Q1 or Q2]) may be explained by the fact that nurses are more involved and have greater responsibilities in vaccination programmes [29] and receive more information about, and training in, vaccination than the students of the other present degrees, and the correlation that exists between knowledge and attitude towards vaccination [11,15,42]. Other studies have reported the good disposition of students of nursing towards vaccination [26,42]. In fact, in a study performed in seven European countries, Spanish students of nursing showed the strongest disposition towards vaccination against COVID-19, followed by those studying in Italy [43].…”