COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy and Vaccine Hesitancy Level Among Healthcare Professionals in Türkiye, Their Relationship and Influencing Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: Healthcare professionals (HP) play a role in vaccine acceptance as they influence people's decisions by sharing their personal experiences. The study was aimed to determine the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccine literacy (VL) and vaccine hesitancy (VH) level among HP in Türkiye, their relationship and influencing factors. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional online study was applied to 1,111 HP between 15.02.2022-15.03.2022. The sociodemographic data form, COVID-19 Vaccine Literacy Scale (CVLS), and Vaccine Hesitancy Scale-long form (VHS) were used. Sociodemographic characteristics, questions about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines were considered as independent variables, while VL and VH were considered as dependent variables. Results: Of the participants, 33.8% (n=376) were physicians, 25.2% (n=280) were nurses/midwives and 41.0% (n=455) were other HP. The CVLS functional mean score of HP was 2.6±0.7 and the interactivecritical mean score was 3.0±0.6. The VHS mean score was 44.6±16.3. Being a physician (p<0.001 for functional, p=0.002 for interactive-critical) and thinking that the origin of the coronavirus is a natural source from animals (p=0.029 for functional, p<0.001 for interactive-critical) were the factors that increased VL. Being a physician (p<0.001) and having high CVLS mean scores (p<0.001 for functional and interactive-critical) were the factors that decreased the VH. There was a weak negative correlation between VL and VH levels (r=-0.223 for functional, r=-0.323 for interactive-critical) (p<0.001). Conclusion: Considering that high VL level decreased VH level, it is obvious that the knowledge level of HP about COVID-19 vaccines should be increased.