Levels and factors derived from the Health Action Process Approach of behavioral intentions to take up COVID-19 vaccination: A random population-based study

• Published in: Vaccine Vol. 40; no. 4; pp. 612 - 620
• Main Authors: Yu, Yanqiu, Jia, Wanru, Lau, Mason M.C., Lau, Joseph T.F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 28-01-2022; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Behavior; China; Chronic illnesses; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Effectiveness; Expectancy; Health action process approach; Health promotion; Herd immunity; Humans; Immunization; Infections; Influenza; Intention; Pandemics; Perception; Perceptions; Population; Population studies; Population-based studies; Regression analysis; Risk perception; SARS-CoV-2; Side effects; Sociodemographics; Vaccination; Hong Kong China; China; COVID-19; Intention; Health action process approach; Vaccination; China
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.12.020

•Very low prevalence of intention of free COVID-19 vaccination (11% if 50% effectiveness) was reported.•A low proportion of participants (13%) would like to take up COVID-19 vaccination as soon as it becomes available.•Positive/negative outcome expectancies were associated with intention of COVID-19 vaccination.•In general, the associations involving risk perception/self-efficacy were non-significant.•Health promotion that modifies positive and negative outcomes is greatly warranted.
COVID-19 vaccination needs a high population coverage to achieve herd immunity. We investigated prevalence of three scenarios of intention of free COVID-19 vaccination involving: 1) 80% effectiveness and rare and mild side effects (Scenario 1), 2) 50% effectiveness and rare and mild side effect RMSE (Scenario 2), and 3) immediate vaccination (Scenario 3), and their associated factors derived from the pre-intentional motivational phase of the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA).
A random population-based telephone survey interviewed 450 Chinese adults in the general population (September 16–30, 2020). The four HAPA constructs included a) risk perception scale, b) overall scale/four subscales of positive outcome expectancy of COVID-19 vaccination, c) overall scale/three subscales of negative outcome expectancy of COVID-19 vaccination, and d) the overall scale/two subscales of self-efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination.
The prevalence of intention of COVID-19 vaccination under Scenarios 1 to 3 was 38.0%, 11.1%, and 13.1%, respectively. Logistic regression analyses adjusted for background factors showed that 1) the associations between risk perception and the three scenarios of intention were non-significant; 2) the overall scale/four subscales of positive outcome expectancy were in general positively associated with two scenarios of intention (80% effectiveness and immediate vaccination); 3) the overall scale/three subscales of negative outcome expectancy were in general negatively associated with all three scenarios of intention; 4) the overall scale/two subscales of self-efficacy were only positively associated with the intention that involved 80% effectiveness. When all the four overall scales were entered into an adjusted model, positive and negative outcome expectancy, but not risk perception and self-efficacy, were independently associated with the three scenarios.
In this study population, the prevalence of intention of COVID-19 vaccination was very low and might not result in population protection. Health promotion should modify outcome expectancies to increase intention of COVID-19 vaccination.