“This is a Pakhtun disease”: Pakhtun health journalists’ perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to polio vaccine acceptance among the high-risk Pakhtun community in Pakistan

Shah, Sayyed Fawad Ali; Ginossar, Tamar; Weiss, David J.

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.05.029

Cited by 41 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Being a predominantly Muslim country, religion has often been a strong factor in rejecting vaccination for various vaccine preventable diseases in Pakistan, with many citing the contents of the vaccines to be non-compliant to Sharia law and therefore religiously unacceptable to them. [12,13,26,27] These findings were also reflected in our study, even among highly educated HCWs, particularly those who were female. However, recent public statements by major Islamic organizations have outlined that no such incompatibility exits [14] .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…The variation in hesitancy by ethnicity showed a marked difference from previously performed studies in Pakistan, where Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has often been singled as being more vaccine resistant than the rest of the country. [13] However, our study showed that HCWs of Pashtun ethnicity were more likely to get vaccinated compared to their counterparts from other provinces of Pakistan.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

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Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine in Pakistan Among Health Care Workers

Malik

Ishaq

2021

Preprint

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Objective Acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine will impart a pivotal role in eradicating the virus. In Pakistan, health care workers (HCWs) are the first group to receive vaccination. This survey aimed at the level of acceptance to the COVID-19 vaccine and predictors of non-acceptance in HCWs. Method This was a cross-sectional study design and data were collected through 3rd December 2020 and February 14th, 2021. An English questionnaire was distributed through social media platforms and administration of affiliate hospitals along with snowball sampling for private hospitals. Results Out of 5,237 responses, 3,679 (70.25%) accepted COVID-19 vaccination and 1,284 (24.51%) wanted to delay until more data was available. Only 0.05% of HCWs rejected being vaccinated. Vaccine acceptance was more in young (76%) and female gender (63.3%) who worked in a tertiary care hospital (51.2%) and were direct patient care providers (61.3%). The reason for rejection in females was doubtful vaccine effectiveness (31.48%) while males rejected due to prior COVID-19 exposure (42.19%) and side effect profile of the vaccine (33.17%). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated age between 51-60 years, female gender, Pashtuns, those working in the specialty of medicine and allied, taking direct care of COVID-19 patients, higher education, and prior OCVID-19 infection as the predictors for acceptance or rejection of COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion A high overall acceptance rate was observed among HCWs, favoring a successful nationwide vaccination program in Pakistan.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine in Pakistan Among Health Care Workers

Malik

Ishaq

2021

Preprint

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“…In underdeveloped countries in particular, the causes of vaccine refusal and hesitancy are different from those in developed countries, with a lack of information about vaccines, distrust of vaccination companies, and religious and cultural factors being the main reasons. [14][15][16] In our study, the most common reason was the lack of trust in vaccine companies. Fifty percent of people who think vaccination is nonbeneficial said that they do not trust the vaccine companies, with approximately 5% of all participants indicating similar distrust.…”

Section: Regionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…14 In another study conducted in Pakistan, participants reported distrust of the government that is responsible for vaccine organizations, personal safety concerns, and vaccinations conflicting with their religious beliefs as the most important reasons for vaccine hesitancy and refusal. 15 Few studies conducted in Africa have shown that families do not have their children vaccinated even when vaccines are available. The most important cause of vaccine refusal in these regions is lack of information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vaccine rejection and hesitation in Turkey

Özceylan¹,

Toprak

Esen

2020

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

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In Turkey, primary care staffs have observed an increased rate of vaccination refusal in recent years. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of vaccination refusal and hesitancy in Turkey, in addition to the demographic features and underlying reasons. The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in İstanbul and Tekirdağ, two big Turkish cities that are exposed to widespread internal migration. To reflect Turkey's demographic structure, 1004 participants were selected using cluster sampling based on birthplace, age, and level of education, from all individuals who attended family medicine outpatient clinics at Namık Kemal University and Şişli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital. A face-to-face questionnaire method was used. Data show that this decline was mainly the result of the increasing rate of vaccine rejection and hesitation, for which the most important reason was found to be distrust of vaccine companies. It can be concluded that individuals who display vaccine refusal and hesitation are mostly born in the developed geographical regions of Turkey and have high income and educational levels. According to these results, we anticipate that vaccination rates may fall in Turkey in the coming years.

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“…This belief was reinforced by revelations that the CIA sponsored a phoney hepatitis B vaccination drive to track down Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad. 28 For these reasons the campaign has been surrounded by suspicion, particularly in rural KPK and FATA, which have most polio cases as well as the highest refusal rates for vaccine administration. Vaccinators working in such areas of FATA and KPK recount significant hostility, partly since they are considered to be following a Western agenda.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Religious and Cultural Beliefs Towards Immunization in Pakistan

Anwar¹,

Saeeduddin²,

Mahar³

et al. 2021

J. Bahria Univ. Med. Dent. Coll.

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Pakistan is one of the only two countries in the world where poliomyelitis virus is still not eradicated. Efforts from government such as Expanded Programme on Immunizations (EPI), which has received ample international funding, have not been successful as some sub-sections of population have a negative attitude towards vaccinations. These people generally belong to areas with a lack of education as well as strong influence of religious leaders, who are known to perpetuate misconceptions that the purpose of vaccinations is to sterilize future generations, they are not made from halal products, or are an agenda by Western intelligence agencies to gather information. Also, there are other cultural and social barriers, such as lack of female vaccinators and concerns about their handling. The stance of local people is compared with Muslim leaders and laws of other Islamic countries. Furthermore, a global vaccine confidence survey is discussed to evaluate Pakistan’s position in the broader context.

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“This is a Pakhtun disease”: Pakhtun health journalists’ perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to polio vaccine acceptance among the high-risk Pakhtun community in Pakistan

Cited by 41 publications

References 25 publications

Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine in Pakistan Among Health Care Workers

Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine in Pakistan Among Health Care Workers

Vaccine rejection and hesitation in Turkey

The Impact of Religious and Cultural Beliefs Towards Immunization in Pakistan

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