The intention to get COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine uptake among cancer patients: An extension of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB)

Abstract

The psychosocial impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on human life is well-known. Although vaccine protection represents an effective way to control the spread of the virus, vaccination hesitancy may decrease individuals’ willingness to get vaccinated, including among cancer patients. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to examine the predictors of cancer patients’ intentions to receive COVID-19 vaccinations and vaccine uptake, using and integrating the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the health belief model (HBM). A sample of 276 Italian cancer patients (54% female and 46% male) ranging from 19 to 85 years (M = 49.64, SD = 11.53) was recruited by administering an online questionnaire. The current study results showed that cancer patients with higher trust in health authorities tended to have vaccine-positive subjective norms, perceived that vaccination was under their control, and viewed COVID-19 vaccines positively. On the other hand, the perceived risk of COVID-19 was related to subjective norms but not to perceived behavioural control or attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. The current study reveals that TPB variables can function effectively as mediators between perceived risk, trust, and intention to vaccinate but at different levels. Together, these findings suggest that effective interventions (both public health messaging and personal medical communications) should focus on enhancing trust in health authorities, while at the same time endeavouring to highlight subjective norms that are vaccine-positive.

Application of behavioral change theory and models on COVID-19 preventive behaviors, worldwide: A systematic review

“… 76 The EPPM constructs such as perceived efficacy, perceived fear and perceived severity, response efficacy, and perceived susceptibility were positively associated with COVID-19 preventive behaviors. 75 – 78 It was evidenced that 15% of the adult population in Nigeria had a high threat and efficacy domain 78 to practice preventive behavior, and among the adult population in Iran 54.6% of the participants were engaged in danger control and high-perceived efficacy. 77 This evidence explains the predictive ability of the EPPM on healthy preventive behavior.…”

COVID-19 vaccine uptake among family caregivers of people with dementia: The role of attitudes toward vaccination, perceived social support and personality traits

“…However, the need for mass vaccination to control COVID-19 infections comes at a time of growing skepticism about vaccinations and a reluctance or refusal to vaccinate, despite the availability of the vaccine, especially in developed countries (World Health Organization, 2020;Lunz Trujillo et al, 2021). Several studies have reported a high rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy both in the general population (Sallam, 2021) and in high-risk groups, such as cancer patients (Mejri et al, 2022;Servidio et al, 2022). Consequently, vaccine skepticism threatens COVID-19 immunization efforts (Ball, 2020;Taylor et al, 2020).…”

Factors Influencing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Patients with Serious Chronic Illnesses during the Initial Australian Vaccine Rollout: A Multi-Centre Qualitative Analysis Using the Health Belief Model

“…This allowed a large cross-section of views to be analysed and correlated with clinical status across three predefined high-risk disease types. Our research enhances the understanding of the decision-making implications an underlying health condition may have when weighing the costs and benefits of accepting a vaccine in the context of a person’s disease or treatment, adding to information previously identified using fixed responses within surveys [ 17 , 18 , 24 , 33 , 34 ].…”

“…Behavioural change is only expected if an individual perceives that the benefits outweigh risks. The HBM can be adapted to better understand, and thus specifically address, the multiple factors influencing an individual’s willingness or hesitancy to receive vaccines [ 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”