TY - JOUR
T1 - Awareness and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and associated factors among pharmacy students in Zambia
AU - Mudenda, Steward
AU - Mukosha, Moses
AU - Hikaambo, Christabel Nang’Andu
AU - Meyer, Johanna Catharina
AU - Fadare, Joseph
AU - Kampamba, Martin
AU - Kalungia, Aubrey Chichonyi
AU - Munsaka, Sody
AU - Okoro, Roland Nnaemeka
AU - Daka, Victor
AU - Chileshe, Misheck
AU - Mfune, Ruth Lindizyani
AU - Mufwambi, Webrod
AU - Witika, Bwalya Angel
AU - Godman, Brian
N1 - Funding Information:
Vaccine safety and effectiveness were the main reasons for vaccine hesitancy among our students, similar to students and HCWs in other countries39,42,43,74. This includes concerns that the COVID-19 vaccines have not passed through all key clinical trial stages to assure safety and effectiveness. The higher rate of vaccine hesitancy seen in our study could also potentially be attributed to adverse reports on social media, conspiracy beliefs and a lack of awareness campaigns generally concerning the effectiveness and safety of the different COVID-19 vaccines29,31,43,63,66. Interestingly, our recent findings in Zambia are similar to an earlier study in Zambia, which documented fear of adverse effects, lack of information on the benefits of vaccines, and other beliefs, including traditional beliefs, as barriers to accessing vaccines75. Consequently, there is a need for health authorities to provide adequate information on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, which can be taken forward by community pharmacists and others when discussing prevention with patients including administering vaccines when available18,53,76. Besides, increased health education must be provided through government agencies and HCWs to address misinformation and myths regarding COVID-19 vaccines. The low vaccine acceptance among pharmacy students, the future HCWs, is very worrying and requires urgent attention. Because of this, we recommend that senior academics should urgently provide adequate sensitisation and educational programs to university students on COVID-19 vaccines. These programs should also be implemented among HCWs and the general population. Strengths of the study This is the first study to assess the awareness and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and associated factors among pharmacy students in Zambia and it has highlighted the need to improve information on the benefits of vaccines among university students. Further, the study explored the factors that influence vaccination against COVID-19 and the reasons for vaccine hesitancy. This is important as it can help the government, the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders on the cardinal information to focus on when implementing vaccination programs. Limitations of the study We are aware this study has some limitations. Since the study was limited to pharmacy undergraduate students in Zambia, its results cannot be generalised to students of other healthcare and non-healthcare programmes. In addition, concerns about high numbers of Christians and minority unmarried participants could have affected our findings. Despite this, we believe the findings are robust providing direction for the future. Conclusion This study showed a high level of awareness about COVID-19 vaccines among Zambian pharmacy students. In contrast, their acceptability of receiving the vaccine if made available was lower than regional estimates. Consequently, stakeholders in the healthcare sector need to develop strategies to reassure the populace of the safety and efficacy as well as the success story of COVID-19 vaccination. We also believe there is a critical role for the educators in Pharmacy and Medical schools in Zambia and across Africa to reduce the level of misinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccines, similar to general myths surrounding COVID-19 and its treatment. We will be following this up especially given the pivotal role of community pharmacists during current and future pandemics. Author contributions SM conceptualised and designed the study. SM (Stewart Mudenda), MK, WM, VD, MCH, RLM and CNH participated in the acquisition of data. SM (Stewart Mudenda), MM, MK, VD, MC and RNO conducted data analysis and interpretation. All authors (SM (Stewart Mudenda), MM, CNH, JCM, JF, MK, ACK, SM (Sody Musaka), RNO, VD, MC, RLM, WM, BAW and BG) participated in the draft of the initial manuscript. All authors participated in reviewing the intellectual content of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript. All authors are accountable for any questions regarding the integrity and accuracy of this work. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the University of Zambia for providing access to many articles used in this pilot study. We would like to acknowledge the pharmacy students in Zambia for taking part in this study. SM would like to acknowledge that some of his time dedicated to conducting research is supported by the University of Zambia in collaboration with the Africa Centre of Excellence for Infectious Diseases of Humans and Animals (ACEIDHA). MM would like to acknowledge that some of his time is supported by the UNC-UNZA-Wits Partnership for HIV and Women’s Reproductive Health which is funded by the U.S. National Institute’s Health (grant number: D43 TW010558). Financial & conflict of interest disclosures This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. All the authors declare no competing interests. This study did not receive any medical writing or editorial support. Ethical conduct of research The study protocol was approved by the University of Zambia Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee (UNZAHSREC) and the Zambia National Health Research Authority (NHRA). The study was approved under the protocol ID: 20190217024, IORG no: 0009227, IRB no: 00011000. All participants were aware of the objectives of the study and provided informed consent by reading and responding to the online survey. Data availability The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors, upon reasonable request. References
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and the Medical Association of Malawi.
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Aim This study aimed to assess the awareness and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and associated factors among pharmacy students in Zambia. Materials and Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study among 326 undergraduate pharmacy students in Lusaka, Zambia, from February to April 2021. Data were analysed using Stata version 16.1. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine key factors influencing vaccine acceptance. Results Of the 326 participants, 98.8% were aware of the COVID-19 vaccines, but only 24.5% would accept vaccination. Compared to other religions, being of Christian faith was associated with reduced odds of awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine (aOR=0.01, 95% CI: 0.01-0.20). Conversely, factors associated with vaccine acceptance were being male, single and unemployed. Compared to females, male respondents were 86% more likely to accept the vaccine if it was made available (aOR=1.86, 95% CI: 1.10-3.14). In addition, unmarried respondents were 2.65 times as likely to accept vaccination than married respondents (aOR=2.65, 95% CI: 1.06-6.63). Conversely, unemployed respondents were less likely to accept vaccination than their employed counterparts (aOR=0.32, 95% CI: 0.16-0.46). Barriers to the acceptability of the vaccine were possible side effects (78.5%) and scepticism about its effectiveness (10.2%). Conclusion There was significant vaccine hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccines among Zambian pharmacy students despite their awareness of the vaccines. Health authorities must work collaboratively with training institutions to mitigate vaccine hesitancy, especially with healthcare students being a key part of the future healthcare workforce overseeing disease prevention strategies.
AB - Aim This study aimed to assess the awareness and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and associated factors among pharmacy students in Zambia. Materials and Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study among 326 undergraduate pharmacy students in Lusaka, Zambia, from February to April 2021. Data were analysed using Stata version 16.1. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine key factors influencing vaccine acceptance. Results Of the 326 participants, 98.8% were aware of the COVID-19 vaccines, but only 24.5% would accept vaccination. Compared to other religions, being of Christian faith was associated with reduced odds of awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine (aOR=0.01, 95% CI: 0.01-0.20). Conversely, factors associated with vaccine acceptance were being male, single and unemployed. Compared to females, male respondents were 86% more likely to accept the vaccine if it was made available (aOR=1.86, 95% CI: 1.10-3.14). In addition, unmarried respondents were 2.65 times as likely to accept vaccination than married respondents (aOR=2.65, 95% CI: 1.06-6.63). Conversely, unemployed respondents were less likely to accept vaccination than their employed counterparts (aOR=0.32, 95% CI: 0.16-0.46). Barriers to the acceptability of the vaccine were possible side effects (78.5%) and scepticism about its effectiveness (10.2%). Conclusion There was significant vaccine hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccines among Zambian pharmacy students despite their awareness of the vaccines. Health authorities must work collaboratively with training institutions to mitigate vaccine hesitancy, especially with healthcare students being a key part of the future healthcare workforce overseeing disease prevention strategies.
KW - COVID-19 vaccines
KW - acceptability
KW - acceptance
KW - awareness
KW - pharmacy students
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138627887&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4314/mmj.v34i4.8
DO - 10.4314/mmj.v34i4.8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85138627887
SN - 1995-7262
VL - 34
SP - 273
EP - 280
JO - Malawi Medical Journal
JF - Malawi Medical Journal
IS - 4
ER -