Perceptions of, and Obstacles to, SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Among Adults in Lebanon: Cross-sectional Online Survey.
COVID-19
Lebanon
SARS-CoV-2
coronavirus
health care system
misinformation
public health
vaccination
vaccine acceptance
vaccine hesitancy
Journal
JMIR formative research
ISSN: 2561-326X
Titre abrégé: JMIR Form Res
Pays: Canada
ID NLM: 101726394
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
14 Dec 2022
14 Dec 2022
Historique:
received:
26
01
2022
accepted:
14
09
2022
revised:
06
04
2022
pubmed:
17
11
2022
medline:
17
11
2022
entrez:
16
11
2022
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
The COVID-19 pandemic is an additional burden on Lebanon's fragmented health care system and adds to its ongoing political, economic, and refugee crises. Vaccination is an important means of reducing the impact of the pandemic. Our study's aims were to (1) assess the prevalences of intention to vaccinate and vaccine hesitancy in Lebanon; (2) determine how vaccine hesitancy in Lebanon varies by sociodemographic, economic, and geographic characteristics; and (3) understand individuals' motivations for vaccinating as well as concerns and obstacles to vaccination. We performed a cross-sectional study from January 29, 2021, to March 11, 2021, using an online questionnaire of open- and closed-ended questions in Arabic via convenience "snowball" sampling to assess the perceptions of adults residing in Lebanon. Of the 1185 adults who participated in the survey, 46.1% (95% CI: 43.2%-49.0%) intended to receive the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine when available to them, 19.0% (95% CI 16.8%-21.4%) indicated they would not, and 34.0% (95% CI 31.3%-36.8%) were unsure (with an additional 0.9% skipping this question). The most common reasons for hesitancy were concerns about safety, limited testing, side effects, and efficacy. Top motivations for vaccinating were to protect oneself, protect one's family and the public, and end the pandemic. Despite financial hardships in Lebanon, barriers to vaccine access were not frequently described as concerns. Established health care facilities, rather than new temporary vaccination centers, were most frequently selected as preferred vaccination sites. Vaccine hesitancy appears to be high in Lebanon. Disseminating clear, consistent, evidence-based safety and efficacy information on vaccines may help reduce vaccine hesitancy, especially among the large proportion of adults who appear to be unsure about (rather than opposed to) vaccination.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 pandemic is an additional burden on Lebanon's fragmented health care system and adds to its ongoing political, economic, and refugee crises. Vaccination is an important means of reducing the impact of the pandemic.
OBJECTIVE
OBJECTIVE
Our study's aims were to (1) assess the prevalences of intention to vaccinate and vaccine hesitancy in Lebanon; (2) determine how vaccine hesitancy in Lebanon varies by sociodemographic, economic, and geographic characteristics; and (3) understand individuals' motivations for vaccinating as well as concerns and obstacles to vaccination.
METHODS
METHODS
We performed a cross-sectional study from January 29, 2021, to March 11, 2021, using an online questionnaire of open- and closed-ended questions in Arabic via convenience "snowball" sampling to assess the perceptions of adults residing in Lebanon.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Of the 1185 adults who participated in the survey, 46.1% (95% CI: 43.2%-49.0%) intended to receive the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine when available to them, 19.0% (95% CI 16.8%-21.4%) indicated they would not, and 34.0% (95% CI 31.3%-36.8%) were unsure (with an additional 0.9% skipping this question). The most common reasons for hesitancy were concerns about safety, limited testing, side effects, and efficacy. Top motivations for vaccinating were to protect oneself, protect one's family and the public, and end the pandemic. Despite financial hardships in Lebanon, barriers to vaccine access were not frequently described as concerns. Established health care facilities, rather than new temporary vaccination centers, were most frequently selected as preferred vaccination sites.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
Vaccine hesitancy appears to be high in Lebanon. Disseminating clear, consistent, evidence-based safety and efficacy information on vaccines may help reduce vaccine hesitancy, especially among the large proportion of adults who appear to be unsure about (rather than opposed to) vaccination.
Identifiants
pubmed: 36383635
pii: v6i12e36827
doi: 10.2196/36827
pmc: PMC9762140
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
e36827Informations de copyright
©Nadeem Elias Abou-Arraj, Diana Maddah, Vanessa Buhamdan, Roua Abbas, Nadine Kamel Jawad, Fatima Karaki, Nael H Alami, Pascal Geldsetzer. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 14.12.2022.
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