COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and its associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic in southwest ethiopia: Institutional-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 vaccination is a safe and effective approach to control the pandemic and to prevent its associated morbidity and mortality. To our knowledge, there is no study conducted to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among pregnant women in Ethiopia. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and its associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic in Southwest Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was employed from January 1 up to 30, 2021. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select 396 study participants. A structured and face-to-face interview was used to collect data. Data were entered into Epi-data version 4.2.0 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. P values <0.05 result were considered as a statistically significant association. Results: The COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was found to be 70.7% (95% CI, 66.7%– 74.7%). Maternal age (34–41) years [AOR=1.464, (95% CI; 1.218–5.129)], primary maternal educational status [AOR=3.476, (95% CI; 1.520–7.947), good knowledge [AOR=5.946, (95% CI; 3.147–7.065)], and good practice [AOR =9.15, (95% CI; 8.734–12.189)] of pregnant women towards COVID-19 and its preventive measures were factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was found to be 70.9%. Maternal age (34–41) years, primary maternal educational status, good knowledge, and good practice of pregnant women towards COVID-19 and its preventive measures were factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Health care workers should provide health education to pregnant women to increase their knowledge about the diseases and disseminate leaflets regarding COVID-19 preventive measures. Moreover, before initiation of COVID-19 vaccine administration to pregnant women they must promote the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine.