TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its drivers
T2 - An empirical study of the vaccine hesitant group in Malaysia
AU - Vaithilingam, Santha
AU - Hwang, Li Ann
AU - Nair, Mahendhiran
AU - Ng, Jason Wei Jian
AU - Ahmed, Pervaiz
AU - Musa, Kamarul Imran
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright: © 2023 Vaithilingam et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2023/3/15
Y1 - 2023/3/15
N2 - Background Sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19 remain a threat to public healthcare, especially if vaccination levels do not improve. As Malaysia begins its transition into the endemic phase, it is essential to identify the key determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention amongst the pockets of the population who are still hesitant. Therefore, focusing on a sample of individuals who did not register for the COVID-19 vaccination, the current study integrated two widely used frameworks in the public health domain—the health belief model (HBM) and the theory of reasoned action (TRA)—to examine the inter-relationships of the predictors of vaccination intention amongst these individuals. Methodology Primary data from 117 respondents who did not register for the COVID-19 vaccination were collected using self-administered questionnaires to capture predictors of vaccination intention amongst individuals in a Malaysian context. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to analyze the data. Results Subjective norms and attitude play key mediating roles between the HBM factors and vaccination intention amongst the unregistered respondents. In particular, subjective norms mediate the relationship between cues to action and vaccination intention, highlighting the significance of important others to influence unregistered individuals who are already exposed to information from mass media and interpersonal discussions regarding vaccines. Trust, perceived susceptibility, and perceived benefits indirectly influence vaccination intention through attitude, indicating that one’s attitude is vital in promoting behavioral change. Conclusion This study showed that the behavioral factors could help understand the reasons for vaccine refusal or acceptance, and shape and improve health interventions, particularly among the vaccine-hesitant group in a developing country. Therefore, policymakers and key stakeholders can develop effective strategies or interventions to encourage vaccination amongst the unvaccinated for future health pandemics by targeting subjective norms and attitude.
AB - Background Sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19 remain a threat to public healthcare, especially if vaccination levels do not improve. As Malaysia begins its transition into the endemic phase, it is essential to identify the key determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention amongst the pockets of the population who are still hesitant. Therefore, focusing on a sample of individuals who did not register for the COVID-19 vaccination, the current study integrated two widely used frameworks in the public health domain—the health belief model (HBM) and the theory of reasoned action (TRA)—to examine the inter-relationships of the predictors of vaccination intention amongst these individuals. Methodology Primary data from 117 respondents who did not register for the COVID-19 vaccination were collected using self-administered questionnaires to capture predictors of vaccination intention amongst individuals in a Malaysian context. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to analyze the data. Results Subjective norms and attitude play key mediating roles between the HBM factors and vaccination intention amongst the unregistered respondents. In particular, subjective norms mediate the relationship between cues to action and vaccination intention, highlighting the significance of important others to influence unregistered individuals who are already exposed to information from mass media and interpersonal discussions regarding vaccines. Trust, perceived susceptibility, and perceived benefits indirectly influence vaccination intention through attitude, indicating that one’s attitude is vital in promoting behavioral change. Conclusion This study showed that the behavioral factors could help understand the reasons for vaccine refusal or acceptance, and shape and improve health interventions, particularly among the vaccine-hesitant group in a developing country. Therefore, policymakers and key stakeholders can develop effective strategies or interventions to encourage vaccination amongst the unvaccinated for future health pandemics by targeting subjective norms and attitude.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150277163&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0282520
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0282520
M3 - Article
C2 - 36920970
AN - SCOPUS:85150277163
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 18
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 3 March
M1 - e0282520
ER -