Effect of peer-education on the willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 among high school students

Abstract

Introduction The willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 among adolescents remains low. Peer-education about SARS-CoV-2 may positively influence attitudes to vaccinate among this group. Objective To assess the influence of peer-based educational intervention on the willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 among Polish high school students. Methods In the Polish Lubuskie province, a peer education campaign was introduced among final year high school students from 24 randomly selected schools. Before and after the 45-minute lecture, conducted online by 13 medical students in 51 classes with science and other programs, the willingness to vaccinate was checked using an anonymous questionnaire. The p-value was calculated with the use of chi-square and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Results Out of 883 students, 638 responded (72%);268 males (42%), mean age: 18.4±0.6 years, 69% lived in cities with <100,000 inhabitants, 32% were in the science program. The willingness to vaccinate improved from 31.8% to 35.2% after education (p < 0.001);in females from 29.7% to 33.1%;in males from 34% to 37.7% (p < 0.002;p < 0.01 respectively). Before intervention 43.5% students living in the large cities and 26.5% in small cities wanted to be vaccinated, this increased to 48.0% and 29.5% respectively (p < 0.003;p < 0.005) after intervention. There were significant between-locations and between-programs differences in the willingness to vaccinate before and after intervention (p < 0.001;p < 0.001 and p < 0.001;p < 0.001 respectively). The improvement in the science program was from 44.3% to 47.8%;in the other programs from 26.1% to 29.5% (p < 0.01;p < 0.002 respectively). Conclusions Adolescents' willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 was alarmingly low, especially among females, students from small cities and attending the non-science program. Concise integrated teaching designed to address mistrust and knowledge deficiencies can be effective in improving the uptake. Key messages Research provide data about students’ attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination and indicate the need for universal educational campaigns. Online education is an effective method which may substantially increase COVID-19 vaccination rate in Poland.