Psychometric Properties of a Vaccine Hesitancy Scale Adapted for COVID-19 Vaccination Among People with HIV

Abstract

We evaluated the psychometric properties of a modified version of the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (VHS) among people with HIV (PWH) for COVID-19 vaccination in a cross-sectional study in the US. Self-report data from an online questionnaire were collected from a sample of N = 175 PWH. Participants were surveyed in English or Spanish regarding attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination using the adapted VHS. Participants were on average 51.55 years of age (SD = 13.90) 55% were women. The reliability of the scale was acceptable (α = 0.72). An exploratory factor analysis showed that “Lack of confidence” and “Risks” explained 45.55% and 12.31% of the variance. Related items showed expected associations with these factors, supporting construct validity. Results illustrate that the modified VHS for COVID-19 vaccination has adequate psychometric properties. We replicated the original factor structure of the VHS and demonstrated adequate internal consistency and construct validity. Validated tools are essential to guide vaccination policy and campaigns towards populations at risk.